USGA Green Section

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Friday

At 23*F, it was a chilly start to the day with a dusting of snow!  April 11th will be here before you know it!  We are going to open the practice facility and possibly the golf course, weather permitting, a few days ahead of time for those folks in town.  I'll keep you posted on the blog, or see Ken in the Golf Shop for details!  

Here is the look behind the 13th green!  A majority of the sod was removed in this area and will be replaced.  We did this so you're not looking at a perfect square of new sod where the rain shelter once stood.  We have an interesting plan to "replace" this rain shelter.  I'll talk more about that in the next week or two, after Chris Raby (our first class building maintenance supervisor) gets started on that project.  In short, we'll be adding a "front porch" to that structure to house the water fountain, sand bottles and benches for golfers to wait out a passing rain shower, if needed.

All of the mulch is out on the golf course and the look is great!  We still have some pine straw to put out yet.  As I mentioned before, it wasn't practical to make a complete switch to mulch all in one year.  Also, steep slopes still need to be covered in pine straw to avoid washing during rain events.  Below is also a great photo of #8, where grass replaced all the pinestraw in that area.

What to Expect in Regards to #12 and #14 Greens...

#12 and #14 greens were reconstructed this winter and resodded with Creeping Bentgrass, from a Sod Farm about 20 miles west of Chicago, Illinois.  Anytime a green is rebuilt over the winter season, there is always uncertainty as to when will the putting greens be ready for play.  Will we need to use temporary greens for a period time, during the spring?  Or, will golfers have to skip the holes for a period of time, after the course opens in April?  

I'm here to officially say, there will be no delay in opening the 12th and 14th holes this spring.  Both putting greens will be open to play on April 11th along with the other 16 greens and will be in similar condition.  Our aerification program was only minimally disruptive this spring, meaning the greens will be more playable compared to year's past.  Studies on our root zone and organic layer show that we are in great shape and the performance of the greens, based on the physical properties, is outstanding.

A great sod source and solid (and patient) agronomics will allow these greens to open at the same time as the rest of the golf course!

Wednesday

#14 looks a little bit different now that the rain shed was razed after a white pine crushed in during the intense storm we experienced last weekend.  I'm proud to say our team officially has the golf course cleaned up from the storm!  In total, we lost six trees and a whole lot of limbs and sticks.  That said, it was all cleaned up using our team, so there was no impact on the golf course maintenance budget!

We also sprayed greens this morning with a dose of nutrients and a plant growth regulator that aids in controlling Poa annua seed head production.  By controlling and minimizing seed heads that form on Poa annua in the spring, results in smoother and more consistent putting greens during this time.  Over the last few years, we've had tremendous success with these applications and the results we achieved.

Tuesday

We are continuing to focus on the remainder of the tree clean up.  One of the trees that fell, was this Hemlock into the pond on #10.  In order to get it out, we used a large excavator to pull the tree towards the shore.  Then we would cut three to four feet off the tree, before pulling more of the tree up onto the shore.  In four foot increments, me made pretty short work out of this tree!

We also spent a good bit of the day sanding the sod seams on the new greens on #12 and #14.  As the turf grows, this will help even out the turf and give us a smooth putting surface as quickly as possible.

7-Day Forecast

Monday Clean-up

 

In general, the whole golf course looks like the photo above, with limbs and sticks covering all the tees, roughs and fairways.  The good news is, we have just the team needed to get it back to where we were on Friday!  The guys are working incredibly hard today and in a couple days, this will be a distant memory!  I'm always proud of the fact that I get to work with these guys every day!

We called in a professional tree service to cur this white pine on #8.  The way the tree twisted and split made me very uneasy to have staff saw it.  Trees like this can react in a variety of ways when the log rolls off of the stump.  We never attempt jobs like this, where there is a level uncertainty.

Above and below, is the tree on #8 that we removed on Friday because of a dangerous crack it had.  With the tree on the ground, you can see a majority of it is hollow.

As we make our way around the golf course, we are noticing more limbs and trees on the ground, including this large Hemlock that fell across the back tee on #8.

After 5 holes of clean-up, we generated a pretty large pile that is growing every 15 minutes.

Sunday Morning

Here are a few images showing the destruction caused by the storm that moved through Highlands from approximately midnight- 5:00AM on early Sunday morning.  We received 2" of rain and wind gusts up to 75 mph.  It's disappointing to see our progress take a hit.  This week will be spent getting the golf course cleaned up and back in the condition we were in prior to the storm.  A handful of trees are down, including this one that crushed the rain shelter on #14.

Friday

We are really starting to get things in gear for the season.  The Clubhouse and croquet grounds received a fresh coating of hardwood mulch.  If the smell of mulch doesn't remind you of spring, I don't know what else could!

After chipping away old paint that was flaking away, the tunnel is receiving a fresh coat of paint.

On #18, the front left of the approach was expanded to match the shape of the right side.

Hap is proud to show off the new sod on #12 green.  Severe storms are predicted this weekend, so we hope we don't have too many washouts where the turf isn't well rooted yet.

Thursday

On #18, we are widening the approach on the left side, per the recommendation in the master plan.  This essentially makes the approach symmetric on both sides.

#11 approach was also widened.  The sod does stand out right now but once the turf starts actively growing, it will blend in with the existing turf.

#12 Green is officially Grassed!

We started our spring greens aeration this morning and will finish up tomorrow.  We are using 1/4" hollow tines.  This is minimally invasive and ensures the greens will be in good condition come April.  We've been very aggressive with our cultural practices over the years and an analysis of our rootzone suggested that we are able to back off this year.

#14 Green is officially grassed!

On the 13th hole, we addressed an ugly black culvert pipe on the left side of the hole that's been there for years.  We added attractive stone headwalls to either end.

Greens Sod

 

First load of sod for the greens arrived and will be installed tonight! Exciting times!

Note the care in which the sod is installed.  The plywood allows workers access the green without disrupting the rootzone.  Care is also taken to be sure each piece of sod is tight up against the next.  This is a precision operation!