Course is Opening April 27, 2013

This is what the course looked like yesterday morning, full of a lot of snow, but today it is 90% all gone. Course opens Saturday morning but it will be a little wet and there are some rough spots here and there. The annual bluegrass did not enjoy the long winter and much of it is definitely not green. For the most part the only turf loss appears to be in the bowls and pockets in some of the fairways. The front of #16 green is also in pretty tough shape, there are some fairly large areas that do not look like they survived the winter. We will be evaluating it over the next few days as things warm up and take quick action to get it back in shape as soon as possible. With only a couple days of being able to prep the golf course for the opener I just want all the members to know that certain things might not get done. We will do our best to get through as many bunkers as we can, I predict there will be snow still in some of them along with some leaf/stick debris. Our plan is to mow greens Saturday morning if they are firm enough for equipment traffic, some of them at this point are not. They will be clean and playable regardless. Do to remaining snow and wet conditions throughout the course, including our cart crossings in fairways, there will be no golf carts until conditions permit. I'm predicting carts will be allowed on paths only Monday or Tuesday of next week.

So here we go...

Good Rooting

Last week I was changing cup locations on the greens and was extremely pleased to see rooting to the bottom of the cup cutter and deeper.  The cup cutter we use pulls the plug out in one 7" piece and to see roots popping out the bottom is a wonderful site.  We even have rooting that deep in the poorer soils below some of our greens as evidenced in the picture of the black turf plug.  By accomplishing this in the spring the turf plants are set up to better cope with the stresses of summer when roots die back instead of continuing to grow.  It won't surprise me to see root depths as shallow as 1/2"-1" by the end of the summer if things really get stressful.  And then the plant will do it all over again next season...  Obviously the trick is to help the plant maintain as much root mass as possible during the summer.  Syringing, deep/infrequent irrigation, and raising the height of cut are a few things that aid that in happening.

A New Insect? Not Likely.

Well this ain't a beetle, but it is a pest all the same.  I'm a sunflower seed guy myself, I carry a bag around in my cart and often have a mouthful while I am out and about.  I do not spit seeds on fine turf areas out of respect for other golfers.  While fairways and tees might not be as big a issue, spitting sunflower seeds on greens is.  There is no reason a person should have to pick up another person's sunflower seed shells so they can putt.  Not only is it a bit disrespectful, it is a tad bit gross too.  Let's keep the shells in the rough and respect our fellow golfers a bit more.

And on a lighter note...  Stump holes are being sodded, most landscape beds have a fresh layer of mulch, and a lot of little things are getting done.  We will soon start addressing cart path edges around greens and tees.  I think it's gonna warm up soon, I did wear shorts today but apparently that might have been a wee bit optimistic.  I started the day with rain pants and a decent jacket on because it was cold...

Hole #16, What's Going On.

05-10-2011

05-10-2011

05-11-2011

05-16-2011

05-17-2011

Here are shots to summarize the work so far of the bunker renovation taking place on hole 16. It is expected to be completed by the end of the day today and sod should go down tomorrow sometime. In about 2 weeks we should be able to open up the new bunkers and surrounding rough providing the weather cooperated and the new turf roots down good. 

And on another note, #16 green will be open for play starting Monday the 23rd. We have kept the height of cut a little longer compared to the other greens to encourage better growth, especially once it starts getting traffic, and overall it is in great shape. There are still some thin spots but the bulk of the damage down the center of the green has recovered very nicely. Once the younger plants have matured a bit more we will start a topdressing program, same goes for #7 green, which should help with the thinner and uneven spots...

If this weather can start to stay more typical for this time of year we should have the turf back in no time.

A New View

( 2010_04_13 - Hole #18 )

A new look from the eighteenth tee will greet you on your next visit to the club. In an effort to make the hole more playable the two trees on the right side of the fairway nearest the tee have been removed. This greatly improves the ability to reach the right side of the fairway and not get caught up to find yourself with a 200 yard shot up hill to the green. As part of the next phase of the bunker renovation project, the bunker on 18 will be getting a makeover. This means it will be brought up to style with the other bunkers and also be brought into the fairway a little more to take it out of the tree line on the left side. The removal of the trees not only makes the hole much more playable now, but with the changes it will continue to keep the hole more playable for us average golfers.

You will also notice that we have removed the bag rack near the putting green. It was seldom used and created a traffic issue that funneled players to and from the putting green to the first tee. This should help improve movement and also turf conditions in the area. We are also in the planning stages for the new flower bed that we created when we took out all the old Juniper shrubs next to the starter shack, new shrubs for a hedge to block the loading area to the lower part of the clubhouse, and shrubs to replace the overgrown Amur Maples to the right of the first tee.