Tree Pruning Starting Up Again

 

Guys are getting after it again this winter pruning trees on the golf course.  Last year we did half the golf course and we are hoping to finish the remaining holes in the next month or so.

Not What the Doctor Ordered

 

Can you see where the sun hits the 10th green?  After the rain and snow event Sunday night into Monday morning, the staff went out and removed all standing water from the greens on the course to prevent turf loss from rapid freezing.  Despite our efforts, the snow continued to melt from behind the 10th green and puddle on the green where it has now become a sheet of ice.  The green surfaces are frozen as well, so XGD lines are not working right now as water cannot penetrate the laterals.  We have discussed in our long range plan to relocate this green out of this corner and this is another reason to do this.  We know in the summer with lack of sunlight and air movement this green has to be babied along but simply relocating it more to the left will solve a lot of these issues.  In order to get more sunlight on this green now, we would have to remove a good portion of the woodland buffer along the 11th hole which will create its own set of new problems.  The good news is we have options to correct this problem.

Poa Vs Bentgrass

 

I have been discussing the importance of poa vs bentgrass on our putting greens over the years and this picture demonstrates the importance of having poa, especially in high traffic areas.  The top picture is the green expansion on the 8th hole.  This was added 5 or 6 years ago and was sodded with bentgrass from a local golf course.  We did not have poa available at the time.  Over the years, the green would continue to thin out due to the concentrated foot traffic having to walk off the green at the same location, regardless if you were walking or riding.  A simple relocation of the green side bunker would alleviate this problem, but you will see how over the years the poa has been filling in this green expansion.  Bentgrass cannot tolerate traffic and low mowing heights and this green offers both.  Plus we keep our greens open all winter and bentgrass goes dormant much earlier and wakes up much later in the spring, so winter foot traffic will create damage or stress that will take a few good weeks to grow out each spring.  If you look at the bottom picture, you will see the bentgrass is actually still there, it is dormant and not growing.  Ideally in the next few years this problem will be solved on #8 by allowing the poa to continue to out compete the bentgrass or we can go in and relocate the bunker and offer more access points on the green to give this area a fighting chance.  We are now incorporating poa aeration plugs into all our bentgrass practice greens to get all greens to perform the same.

New Artificial Turf Strip Install

 The base work is being completed for our new artificial turf mat on the upper warm up tee.  With this mat, the range can now be open during the winter months to practice and all Monday outings will now have to hit off the mat vs the turf, prolonging the life of our tee during the season.  Installation of the base only took 3 days to complete and unfortunately it will be 10-12 weeks to get the mat delivered.  We are hoping for a March/April opening.

Wow, TBT 1990s on #4

 

Amazing how far golf has come.  Arcola was a wooded golf course back in the day and now it is unrecognizable.  How did prior superintendents provide great conditions with lack of sunlight and air movement?   Many would say mowing heights were higher back then which may be true, but it is all relative.  Expectations were as high as they are now but to some degree technology has changed so much that turf managers can push the envelope further with a lot more tools at our disposal.

Successful Tweak

 

Some minor water accumulated after the last gully washer mainly runoff from the faces.  Within an hour after it rained no pumping was necessary and looks like we were able to divert the water away from the bunker.

Minor Tweak to Solve a Major Problem

 

When the fairway bunker on 18 was built a lot of surface runoff entered the bunker, creating drainage and maintenance issues.  The staff raised up the area on the far side of the bunker to divert water away from the bunker.  We are hoping this minor tweak was enough to prevent issues in the future.  We will be moving on to 17 next.