Mowing New Fairway on 16

We were able to get out and mow and blow the new alternate fairway we built last fall on the 16th hole on Thursday.  The grass looks great and all the drains worked great as well considering this was a mucky area before we removed all the trees and constructed the fairway.

Greens Aerification This Past Week

While the weather has been lousy of late, we were able to punch holes again in the greens for the 3rd time this winter.  This application we went with 5/8" solid tines followed by 3/4" deep tine.  The rainy weather hampered our cleanup so we sent the crew out on Thursday to pack blow all the sand into the holes when the weather was nice and dry.  We are dryjecting the greens on Friday April 7th so this is a great head start.

Bunker Maintenance Underway

We began working on bunkers on Friday and will continue for the next 2 weeks.  Included in this is fixing any stakes and liners that have heaved, edging, checking sand depths and adding sand.  This is a time consuming process and will go much quicker once we are fully staffed.

New Mounding Right of #1

The new mounding to the right of number 1 is serving its purpose of screening the unsightly building yet keeping the new vistas we created open.

Tree Moving and New Planting

We took advantage of dry weather before the last snow storm to move the large Plane tree by the 6th green and we also planted a new one behind the 2nd green for safety from the 8th tees.

New Tee on Par 3 Hole Ready for Drainage

The new retaining wall is completed and the new tee is now squared, shelled and aligned to the new green.  Next step is adding drainage and then mix.  With the rain coming in, the tee has been tarped to allow us to start work next week when crew returns.

USGA Update on the Crazy Spring

So This Is SpringMARCH 17, 2017By David A. Oatis, regional director, Northeast Region

Cold weather and snow are likely to wreak havoc with flowering plants this spring.

A mild winter and warm February temperatures have been tantalizing golfers with the prospect of an early spring. Bulbs are blooming, trees are budding, and courses in the southern part of the region have already applied preemergence herbicides and annual bluegrass seedhead suppression treatments. However, Mother Nature has reasserted herself in typical fashion. Cold March temperatures chilled bermudagrass back into dormancy and slowed pest development while single-digit temperatures and brisk winds bring an uneasy feeling to turf managers in northern locations. The recent nor'easter brought heavy snowfall, which all but slammed the door on plant growth and pest development. So, what does all this mean for golf courses?

• Bermudagrass was off to a fast start this year, but the recent cold temperatures have stopped it in its tracks. No damage is suspected at this point, but it will take plenty of warm weather and sunshine to get it growing again.
• Northern courses that had nondormant putting green turf and experienced single-digit temperatures should remove and incubate a few plugs from greens to check for winter injury. Widespread damage is not suspected at this point, but some injury may have occurred. Incubating plugs is the most effective way to gauge whether winter injury has occurred.
• Timing seedhead suppression treatments and preemergence herbicide applications has been difficult this year due to fluctuating temperatures; it is not going to get any easier going forward. Courses that made early seedhead suppression treatments may need to make additional applications because the seedhead production window will likely expand.
• Annual bluegrass weevils were active on many southern courses before the last two weeks of cold temperatures. Hopefully the cold will knock back their populations, but that may be hoping for too much. Turf managers should resume monitoring for annual bluegrass weevils once the snow melts.
• Recent high winds combined with heavy snowfall, ice and sleet will undoubtedly leave many courses covered with a layer of debris. More spring cleaning is in order for many.
• Temperatures always fluctuate during spring, but some years are worse than others. Late-winter and early spring temperature fluctuations result in a “start and stop” pattern for turf growth as well as pest and weed development. This makes timing control applications very difficult. It also produces inconsistent turf growth and makes turf more susceptible to wear problems. Don't overdo maintenance practices when turfgrass growth resumes. This is especially important with creeping bentgrass, because it is very susceptible to wear injury during spring.

The return of winter throughout much of the region is having impacts well beyond a deep layer of snow in many areas. Hopefully most courses will come through the cold snap unscathed and spring maintenance will soon fall into a normal routine. However, golfers may see a few more seedheads this spring, and perhaps a little more crabgrass and goosegrass this summer. For now, we will just have to wait out the cold weather and watch our college basketball tournament brackets.

Northeast Region Agronomists:

David A. Oatis, regional director – doatis@usga.org

Adam Moeller, director, Green Section Education – amoeller@usga.org

James E. Skorulski, agronomist – jskorulski@usga.org

Elliott Dowling, agronomist – edowling@usga.org

Addison Barden, agronomist – abarden@usga.org

Paul Jacobs, agronomist – pjacobs@usga.org

Information on the USGA’s Course Consulting Service 

Contact the Green Section Staff