As we cut many of the trees, we found many of them to be dying or diseased. This tree was cut from the left of 10 green.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Golf Course Update 4/25/11
It has been a little while since our last update. I feel like we are finally starting to catch up a little bit. There are still many areas throughout the course that still need some attention. With the majority of the tree project behind us, we'll be able to wrap up many of the loose ends out there.
All of the areas, where the tree work took place, have been seeded with a fescue mixture as of April 21st. The areas that are out of play will be allowed to grow tall and naturalize. I've talked about the fact that we are trying to reduce all of our inputs, i.e. mowing, fertilization, water and pesticides to name a few. We are well on our way to achieving many of these goals.
Many people have inquired about the Rhododendron bed that was located behind the second green. We chose to remove the bed because it became unsightly and unmaintainable. I think everyone will be thrilled with the final results once the fescue has time to mature. I ask for your patience as these areas fill in and mature.
Finally, I just want to remind everyone that every tree, which was cut down, was selectively removed. I'd like to outline for everyone the major goals associated with this project.
First, 90 percent of the trees were removed to ensure the fact that we are providing the absolute best growing conditions for our greens. All of the damage that has taken place over the past few years is directly related to shade.
Second, as I stated earlier, we are striving to be more environmentally conscious. Very shortly, all golf courses will be required to reduce all water and chemical usage. Naturalized areas require absolutely no water and very little maintenance.
Lastly, many of the areas on the course seemed to have an unfinished look to them. Many tree lines were infested with moss, shallow roots and weeds. By removing many of the lower growing trees, we've now opened up significant amounts of sunlight into areas that were formerly 100 percent shade. We can now establish turf in these areas, and ultimately improve aesthetics throughout the course.
Thanks! See everyone soon.
All of the areas, where the tree work took place, have been seeded with a fescue mixture as of April 21st. The areas that are out of play will be allowed to grow tall and naturalize. I've talked about the fact that we are trying to reduce all of our inputs, i.e. mowing, fertilization, water and pesticides to name a few. We are well on our way to achieving many of these goals.
Many people have inquired about the Rhododendron bed that was located behind the second green. We chose to remove the bed because it became unsightly and unmaintainable. I think everyone will be thrilled with the final results once the fescue has time to mature. I ask for your patience as these areas fill in and mature.
Finally, I just want to remind everyone that every tree, which was cut down, was selectively removed. I'd like to outline for everyone the major goals associated with this project.
First, 90 percent of the trees were removed to ensure the fact that we are providing the absolute best growing conditions for our greens. All of the damage that has taken place over the past few years is directly related to shade.
Second, as I stated earlier, we are striving to be more environmentally conscious. Very shortly, all golf courses will be required to reduce all water and chemical usage. Naturalized areas require absolutely no water and very little maintenance.
Lastly, many of the areas on the course seemed to have an unfinished look to them. Many tree lines were infested with moss, shallow roots and weeds. By removing many of the lower growing trees, we've now opened up significant amounts of sunlight into areas that were formerly 100 percent shade. We can now establish turf in these areas, and ultimately improve aesthetics throughout the course.
Thanks! See everyone soon.
Friday, April 8, 2011
7 Green Bent vs. Poa In The Winter
Here is a video showing how bentgrass will survive in the winter and Poa will not.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
New View from 2 Tee
When the weather decides to cooperate, we'll get these areas seeded. Hopefully, sooner than later.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Update March 23rd
After a few weeks of relatively good weather, this week hasn't been so great. This last storm dropped about 2 inches of snow on us, and we have another 1-3 inches forecasted for tomorrow. The snow is of little concern at this point. It really isn't going to impact turf health at all. The problem is that the melting snow is keeping the course wet, and we just aren't able to get out there and clean up all the debris.
Right now, there is only one area of concern on the golf course. After we removed the cover off of 7 green, there were still large snow banks surrounding the green. Over the weekend, the warm temperatures melted a lot of snow. Some of the water, from the snow melt, settled on the back quarter of the 7th green. At this point I think we have some minor injury back there, but only time will tell. Everything else looks great at this point. Overall, with the winter we've had, I am very pleased with the way the golf course looks.
Right now, there is only one area of concern on the golf course. After we removed the cover off of 7 green, there were still large snow banks surrounding the green. Over the weekend, the warm temperatures melted a lot of snow. Some of the water, from the snow melt, settled on the back quarter of the 7th green. At this point I think we have some minor injury back there, but only time will tell. Everything else looks great at this point. Overall, with the winter we've had, I am very pleased with the way the golf course looks.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Cover removal off 6 green.
I can't tell you how pleased I am with the protection these impermeable covers provided. We found 7 inches of ice on the right hand side of this green. The far left side, which gets some sun throughout the day, had approximately 1-2 inches of ice. If we didn't have the green covered, ice removal would have been next to impossible. The cover acted as a barrier, and made sliding the ice very easy. If we were to repeatedly slide ice across the green, it would have undoubtedly injured the turf. Both 6 and 7 look just as good as they did back in November.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Tree Work
Ok. By now I'm sure everyone is well aware of the tree removal program that is underway. I want to discuss why certain trees were selected for removal.
First, shade is without a doubt, the leading contributor to turf decline. Without full sun, turf can not accumulate food storage reserves, and as a result, winter kill and summer decline are almost inevitable. Every problem that we've encountered over the last three to four seasons can be traced back to shade one way or another.
We chose to drastically thin the left side of number four fairway. These trees blocked both sun and air flow to number four green. We also decided to remove the Rhododendron bed behind two green. Along with the trees on four, we also removed trees on the east side of five and eleven green. These trees were a recipe for disaster even though we didn't run into too many problems last year. Lastly, we are beginning to remove some trees on the bank behind six green.
Many of these areas will be seeded to fescue and allowed to "naturalize." These naturalized areas will require very little maintenance, and will create a beautiful contrast in color from hole to hole. Playability of the golf course is our foremost concern. We are going to keep these areas out of play for the most part.
Throughout the next few seasons, we will establish more and more of the naturalized areas. The visual impact will be great. However, the bottom line impact on budget will be ever greater. First, the reduction in water usage will keep us in good standing with the city. Water usage, over the next 5-10 years, will be a hot topic. We can all expect to see mandated water use reductions. So, why do these naturalized areas help to reduce water usage? Plain and simple. They don't need to be watered. Second, these areas don't have to be mowed. The club purchased a new rough mower in 2010. Throughout the season, the new machine has accumulated almost 700 hours. That is double what an average course puts on their machine. With the establishment of these areas, we will see a savings on labor, fuel and machinery.
I've put a few links on the side of the page if anyone wants to read about the negative impacts of shade. Another option is to Google "shade on greens." There are hundreds of articles related to this topic.
First, shade is without a doubt, the leading contributor to turf decline. Without full sun, turf can not accumulate food storage reserves, and as a result, winter kill and summer decline are almost inevitable. Every problem that we've encountered over the last three to four seasons can be traced back to shade one way or another.
We chose to drastically thin the left side of number four fairway. These trees blocked both sun and air flow to number four green. We also decided to remove the Rhododendron bed behind two green. Along with the trees on four, we also removed trees on the east side of five and eleven green. These trees were a recipe for disaster even though we didn't run into too many problems last year. Lastly, we are beginning to remove some trees on the bank behind six green.
Many of these areas will be seeded to fescue and allowed to "naturalize." These naturalized areas will require very little maintenance, and will create a beautiful contrast in color from hole to hole. Playability of the golf course is our foremost concern. We are going to keep these areas out of play for the most part.
Throughout the next few seasons, we will establish more and more of the naturalized areas. The visual impact will be great. However, the bottom line impact on budget will be ever greater. First, the reduction in water usage will keep us in good standing with the city. Water usage, over the next 5-10 years, will be a hot topic. We can all expect to see mandated water use reductions. So, why do these naturalized areas help to reduce water usage? Plain and simple. They don't need to be watered. Second, these areas don't have to be mowed. The club purchased a new rough mower in 2010. Throughout the season, the new machine has accumulated almost 700 hours. That is double what an average course puts on their machine. With the establishment of these areas, we will see a savings on labor, fuel and machinery.
I've put a few links on the side of the page if anyone wants to read about the negative impacts of shade. Another option is to Google "shade on greens." There are hundreds of articles related to this topic.
Monday, March 14, 2011
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