March Melting

Greetings everyone, I hope your winter has been good and our spring is soon to come...

We have been monitoring the ice that has been around since January on some spots. There are a couple of areas that concern me, #2 being the main one. The ice has built up in the front of the green and caused some water back-up during the 2-3 days we have had in the 40's. We have chipped channels through the ice so the melting water has room to escape and not continue to pool up. It is the only green where this major ice dam has occurred, for the most part the rest of the ice on greens is an inch or so and when it does melt it has places to run off to. We will continue to create openings and places for the water to go so it does not sit on the green surfaces.

We have taken in a couple of turf plugs, from #2 & #4. The one taken from #4 is in fine shape and green-up has been quick. The one from #2 (pictured above) is in ok shape, the poa annua is slower to start which is normal and the bentgrass appears to be similar to #4.

With ice build up we are concerned with two major things, one being suffocation if it covers the turf for extended periods of time (which I have discussed before) and the second is during the freeze/thaw cycles we are now experiencing. If the turf warms up enough the plant can take in water, known as crown hydration. Our concern then is a hard freeze and the water in the plant freezes and shatters the cells. What we do to prevent that is to make sure the water has a place to go as it melts and does not sit on the green. Shovel snow, chip ice, squeegee water, and anything else to help get the ice & water off is what we are doing.

Obviously if there is any damage from the winter we will take all steps in making sure we get turf back as soon as possible. Aerify, topdress, verticut, seed, and even cover in plastic to create mini-greenhouses are just a few of the things that can be done to encourage quick recovery.

Greens Committee Meeting Highlights

We held our first Greens Committee meeting of the year last night. Everyone was present and most of the meeting evolved around the 2009 budget and ideas for planned projects. Nominees for the new committee member position where reviewed and a choice was made. He will be notified by the committee and upon acceptance his name will passed on to the board for approval. The 2009 meeting dates were decided and I have updated the list on the right.

The bulk of our discussion of the evening revolved around the bunker project for 2009 and also various other projects around the golf course. The golf course is going to start facing some interesting times with the economy in the position that it is in. The greens committee feels that even though we are going to be facing some tighter spending limits we can not stop progressing through updates and renovations to the golf course. It is important at a time like this that we continue to improve the golf club, the course being the committees focus obviously, and make sure we are a club that people want to be a part of. On that note we discussed holes #7, 12, and 13 for the bunker renovations this season. If we can fit it into our current budget, those are the holes that will be under renovation around July of this summer.

The other part of the project discussion had to do with tee boxes, from leveling to renovating complexes. We still have a few that are not very level and in need of some attention. We also have some aging timber walls that need to be replaced in the near future. So the committee has set a goal to discuss these areas and put together a plan of attack for them. The other lingering issues have to do with drainage, curbing, and landscaping. Overall it was a good mid-winter refresher about what the course is going to be facing this season and areas that we need to address.

The committee members are listed to the right of this page. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, etc. please make them known so they can be addressed and resolved if need be. And my ear is always open to any of the above, whether you call or email...

A New Year Begins...

Well, we are back at it in the shop. Maintenance on equipment, supplies, etc. is going along smoothly. Dave & I have seminars and a trade show the rest of this week in Minneapolis at the Convention Center and will be back in the shop on Monday. Brian is working on equipment and Frank McGinn III has been helping out in the shop over his holiday break.

The warmer weekend and rain brought about some ice formation on the greens. We walked all 18 today to get an idea of what we are facing and so far things are not very alarming. A couple of greens have a fairly thick layer on them in spots but most areas are under 1/2" thick and cloudy. Cloudy and full of air bubbles is the ok kind of ice because there is enough air there usually that the plants will not suffocate before the melting occurs. Clear ice is the stuff you do not want to see for very long because there is little to no air trapped there and that is when the plants can suffer. On average poa annua (annual bluegrass) is ok for upwards of 90 days under ice before damage, while bentgrass can go longer under cover. We will monitor the situation from here on out and make the decisions we need to make to make sure we do not have a problem with it... It just showed up for the most part so we have some time to watch what happens to the weather patterns and the ice.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

As many of you know or guessed, during the holiday weeks we take some vacation and there is almost nothing going on in the shop. Except for snowplow duty we are not around during Christmas and New Year's.

So here is a MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR for everyone from us in the maintenance department. We hope your holidays are safe and bring you joy & happiness.

See you next year!

Nice to see snow...

We just finished up some tree trimming, holes #1,2,9,13,14,15,16, and 17. The guys are done until next season. And there is a nice layer of snow on the course with more on the way. As many of you know the course is going with a new electric golf cart fleet next year and we have been ironing out the details lately. Besides signing the dotted line and waiting until delivery next year, there is still a little electrical work to be done in the cart shed to accommodate the new fleet. The plan is for all the member carts to be on the driving range side of the shed and the club carts to be on the other. Our current numbers show a few extra member carts that do not fit on the member side but, with some on the exit list and a few considering removing their carts, there should not be any problems with the storage situation.

Dave, Brian, and myself are now working on equipment and supplies to get them ready for next season. We have a lot of stuff that needs minor repairing and touch-up. Also, as of last winter, we handle the snow removal for the club. The three of us are on call for rotating weeks that go from Monday to Sunday throughout the winter months. With working in the shop, snow removal, seminars, and a little vacation we stay busy during the winter months. Before you know it the snow is melting and the clubs are swinging...

A Little Summary Since Closing

Here's a little summary of what has been happening at IVGC since we closed the course a couple of weeks ago...

We have six greens covered with mats, #1, 7, 8, 15, 16, nursery green, and also #4 teebox. There has been some tree trimming going on, a little more leaf clean-up, and snow fence... We put up about 5,000 feet of snow fence this year to limit the snowmobile traffic onto the golf course. We have not had a serious problem in the last few years, although last year there was some minor damage to the ninth green. I felt though that 2 days of labor is worth it to prevent a potential nightmare in the spring. We continue to leave the driving range un-marked so snowmobilers can run around there as much as they want, just the teebox is fenced off. The steps on #16 tee have been completed, the work was done about the first week of November. We have had great comments on them from those who got to see them before the course closed. Natural stone steps with flagstone size pieces to fill in the open areas, they are definitely solid and will last over time... One last note, we also planted two new trees just a couple of days ago. There is a new oak tree where the two maples came out on the corner of #10 and there is a new honeylocust between #11 & #12 where we transplanted the evergreens from last fall.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone...

Worms?

How did the aerifying go? What can we do about the worms? Were you happy with the conditions this year? What are you planning for next year? These are the typical things I am asked about this time of year, often the questions sound a little "loaded" to me but they are all legitimate none the less. And the cliche that there is no stupid question is very true, so ask away whenever there is something on your mind.

Worms are something we fight in the spring and fall, the fall always seems to be worse and the annoyance lasts much longer. Our fairways have a great black soil for growing grass on, which in turn is a great medium for worms. When we get these rains every few days and the soil surface stays moist the worms have no reason to move deeper and they stay around the surface. The black mud spots we have in the fairways is a result of their castings being flattened out by traffic. In the spring the soil dries out a little quicker leading into summer so the problem does not persist like it does now. Is there anything we can do? Yes there are a couple of things we can do...

One of the fungicides we currently use in the fairways for disease prevention also deters worm activity. We currently use the maximum amount (10.9 lbs./acre) per year we can according to the label to prevent Anthracnose, Dollar Spot, and Leaf Spot which can be a problem for us. So as a side effect we do get some deterrence of worms.

Sandy soils also deter worm activity. The main reason we do not have problems on our greens is because of the high sand content in the top 4-5 inches of the soil profile. We do not have that in the fairways, it is a nice loam with minimal sand content. We can topdress our fairways with sand, it is showing success at other courses that have chosen to do it. A couple of things to consider there however is building up layers in the soil profile and cost of application. Layers create water problems and root issues so it is a major issue to consider. Once on a sanding program it is very difficult to stop it, until a decent layer of sand is built up it could cause major problems in the future with turf health. And cost is another factor, while the sand is not so expensive the cost of delivery keeps rising. I am currently researching this option for IVGC and plan to present the green committee and BOD with what I find. It appears that it would work in taking care of much of our worm problem, now we just need to make sure it fits into our budget for the long term. It should be noted that turf quality will improve with incorporating sand into our soil profile, not only from less mud caused by worm castings but also with water movement and firmness. #3 & #14 approach would be the first to show some signs of improved quality since there is so much peat in those profiles...

Just something to chew on over the winter months and perhaps plan to start next year...