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.

Much Needed Drainage

 

The walk on area to the left of 11 green is finally being addressed.  With constant shade and heavy soils this area becomes problematic to walk through even if it hasnt rained recently.  This should take care of the problem once and for all.

11 Green Trials and Tribulations

 

We know the 11th green has never behaved like our poa greens since it was built in 2011.  It cannot be pushed to the extremes our other greens can without thinning out.  When we aerated greens in August, we decided to start incorporating poa plugs as our topdressing to begin to switch from bent to poa.  The cleanup of aeration cores this year took way longer than years past, having the crew finishing in the pitch dark.  We immediately saw extensive mechanical damage from continuously driving over the plugs numerous times and the sweeper having to enter and exit the same way due to hazards on all sides of the green.  While it was ugly for quite a few weeks, the green is almost back to normal and the poa is starting to fill in significantly throughout.  We will do another aeration in the end of October, this time going solid tines on 11 green and incorporating 1/4" aeration cores from our poa greens.  We will also do our 2 practice greens so they too perform like our poa greens.  While this was a difficult month to get 11 to recover, we now have a good plan in place moving forward.

Deja Vu All Over Again

 This will be the second time we are sodding the tent area located by the 10th tees this season.  While the pad has done everything it was intended to do, we are often sodding this area after the tents removal.  The pad serves as a perfect spot for a tent that can allow us to host large functions and when it is not up it serves as a tee area and sitting area for the members.  By the time we get the sod knitted and perfect, the tent will probably be going back up next spring.   Artificial turf or a more permanent pavilion structure could lessen the need for this.

Skyline View Recaptured

 

Back in 2011 we lost a bunch of trees in a storm behind 4 green.  When doing the cleanup we realized that if we removed the remaining poor trees we could open up dramatic views.  Over the past 8-9 years, a lot of weed trees have regrown behind our fence and the property owner allowed us to remove them all and we planted trees that would provide screening but not block this view.

Pulling Out All the Stops

 

The machine pictured is an aeravator that is used to loosen compacted turf areas by vibrating the tines that roll over the surface.  Here we tried it in our bunkers and it made a big impact already.  This will go out once a week in bunkers we can access, especially around greens.  Over time this will make a big difference and loosen the sub surface sand that does not get fluffed with rakes or the machine rake.  This will actually prolong the life of our bunkers until we are ready to renovate all of them.

4 Blue Tee Buckled

 

From the intense runoff down the service road, water found its way under the blue tee on #4, buckling the rough and front of the tee top.  Work will be done today to help repair it and get it playable for the weekend.

More Cleanup Needed

 

All aggregate cart paths are severely washed out

Wooden walk bridges washed down stream

Lost the large oak between 17 and 12 onto 12 fairway

Bunkers Obliterated

 

Bunkers washed out and need to be pumped

Bunkers on #5 fared quite well, with minimal work needed to them

Ida

 

View from 14 green looking back to the tee

Water almost up to 7 green

Ida Destruction

 

7.2" fell yesterday afternoon and evening leaving a complete mess at the course.  Cant do much until the Sprout Brook recedes by the Garden State Parkway to allow our course to drain out.  We will have our hands full fixing paths, bunkers, cleaning debris and cutting up trees.

Stay tuned for more pics throughout the day.

The Mulherns to the Rescue!

 

Aeration week is a stressful week for all superintendents.  A big part of the process is getting finished on time before members return.  Our fairway topdresser belt had finally failed this summer before the aeration process and with assembly and shipping delays throughout the country, Pat and Mike Mulhern were able to quickly make us a duplicate belt and ship it to us just in time for us to install it and get all the fairways topdressed before the weekend.  A big thank you to them for helping us this week!

Trying To Change Bent to Poa on 11

 

We know our 11th green is a newer green that is mainly bentgrass.  We know over the years poa has been creeping in at a slow pace.  I prefer a poa putting surface for our management programs so we decided to start taking plugs from our poa greens and spread them on the surface.  Once we coat the green we will aerify on top of them, trying to work plugs and poa seeds into the holes to allow them to germinate later on this fall.  We will keep you posted on our progress.

Rough Contamination

 

In a year where our rough has remained really healthy due to the frequent rain events it is easy to see where our issues will be in the coming years.  Our green surrounds were sodded to kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue starting in 2011 when we renovated each and every hole.  In the picture above you can see how bentgrass and poa (our fairway grass types) have contaminated the surrounds.  Bent and poa have different growth habits and colors and stand out.  Also, at our height of cut, they become puffy and get scalped when mowed down.  For the Arcola Cup we had our rough at 6" and have since taken it back down to our normal heights but you can see these puffy patches are not happy.  These are also more susceptible to dollar spot before the KBG, especially in a year like this.  Best case scenario is to strip it out and resod and make sure we get all remnants out of the soil.  The little things like this will go a long way in keeping Arcola looking good for years to come.

New Rollers Here

 

It has been a trying year so far with deliveries and product availability due to Covid.  We got our new roll and gos last week which has helped us get the greens rolled quicker.  We are still waiting on 80% of our new equipment, but each time we get new pieces, it makes our jobs a bit easier.

17 Tee Before and After

 

Milk Weed

 

Its our annual obligatory photo of milk weed in our native areas.  This succulent weed with fragrant flowers is very beneficial to the monarch butterfly and that is why we are leaving this weed alone for the time being in our fescue areas.  While the plants color and growth habit are starkly different than fescue, they are very beneficial.  We take great pride in the appearance and playability of our fescue areas, yet these are something we feel we can make some sacrifices for.

Fuel Tanks

 

We are officially underway with our above ground fuel tank project.  The footing for the tank pad is formed and electrical rough inspection is done.  Now the bollards are being installed and next week we will pour the tank pad.  Once the pad is cured, we will install the new tanks, wire them up and then make them operational.  At that point, we will then drain and remove the old underground storage tanks by our shop.  With the tanks located in this location, the fuel truck will not have to drive all the way up to our shop anymore and disrupt play.  While it may be a minor inconvenience for us it is a win win all around.

Bridge Builders

 

Pedro Rosa and Roberto Polanco are responsible for building most of the dry laid bridge crossings around the course and this one was done under the gun.  Considering the weather this week and our need to have this bridge done by today was nothing less than remarkable.  They did both sides in about 7 hours today after spending most of the morning getting the course playable after the heavy rain yesterday.  Both of them and the rest of my staff are amazing in getting the course in top condition and finishing the 17th hole in less than ideal conditions the past week or so, just in time for the Invitational.

Thank you!

Pump, Push, Plow...Repeat Pump, Push, Plow....Repeat

 

A relatively dry May and now since Memorial Day weekend we have taken the brunt of several big storms that have washed bunkers and cart paths, softened the course and hampered our ability to finish the 17th hole.  Between pumping and repairing bunkers and not being able to mow it has been a trying 2021 to say the least.  Not to mention the disease pressure has been extremely high for this early in the season.   With our Invitational only 48 hours away and the course inundated with water we will be grinding to get the course in tournament condition and finish the 17th hole in time.  Normally we are coasting into this event but this year we will have to push the envelope.  Lets hope the rain holds off for the rest of the week.

#%^& Mother Nature

 

Even the best plans dont work out.  We had everything prepped sealed off and knew there was a slight chance of rain this morning so we went ahead and got 2 loads of sod delivered.  About .25" fell for about an hour and a half and our finely prepped area turned into a giant mess.  Lucky the top 1/2" turned greasy and the rest was firm enough for us to get the sod laid but it took the entire crew until 3:30 to get it all done before more rain tonight.  These guys are the best.  We have another truck load and a half to lay next week along with new bridge walls and new crushed stone on the paths.  Besides hot weather, it may be dry enough for us to finish this project in time for the Invitational next Thursday.

Getting Ready For Sod

 

We know our backs have been against the wall to get the area by 17 tee done in time for the Invitational on June 10th.  Despite 3" of rain over the weekend and missed days due to the weather, we are getting our first 2 loads of sod delivered tomorrow.  We only have to hope that mother nature holds off a little on the rain so we can get it laid before the weekend.  We will have another load or two to lay next week and then finish off the cart bridge walls and we can call this complete.  We will hopefully finish under the wire next week.

Putting Course Mature

 

For a less than $5000 investment, we now have a great greens nursery for future improvements. In the meantime, we have been setting it up to be used as an 18 hole putting course and we are hoping you will come over and spend less than an hour having some fun and working on your putting.  The speeds are not quite what our greens are due to the contouring but it will definitely challenge you.

Improvements Already Saving Labor

 

After over 3" of rain the past 2 days, the bunkers on 5 look like they did before the rain.  No washouts and no puddles.  Before, we would spend at least 3 hours pumping the bunkers on the 5th hole after any 1/2" rain.  We also mowed the fairway this morning which in the past was nearly impossible for 2 days after rain events.  While there was some disruption to the course last winter, the investment is already paying dividends.