Tree Removal

 This rotted twin oak located to the right of 18 blue tee is finally being removed.  Each year, less and less of the tree leafed out and in 2022 most of the tree was dead.  The main reason was the relocation of the 18th tees 6 years ago and the disruption to the root system with the earth moving etc.  This tree served no strategic purpose and will not be missed.

Pictures Dont Lie

 I found this picture today in my archives of 10 green.  This was taken a few years ago during a thaw and freeze cycle.  Can you see where the sun/shade line is?   There is no snow or ice anywhere on the hole except in the back of the green that gets no sunlight until after 12 noon.  Luckily, no damage was done to the green from the ice, but the only solution is to remove trees left of the green to get more sunlight on the green.  The final solution is to relocate the green about 40 yards left and then remove the same trees to get sunlight on that green.  Tough location when most of the trees we need to remove are needed for screening and protection.

Undercover Update

 

We pulled the covers off 11 and both practice greens.  Pretty obvious the covers work by the green color and the growth of the greens.  Even better, if you look at the picture above, in the topdressed area the bentgrass is not 100% active and growing yet the poa is flourishing.  This picture is near the edge of the green on 11 where mower and roller traffic is heavy and usually thins during the summer.  Poa is starting to take over this area vs the bent.  Definitely can say our poa conversion is working and will continue it this spring.  Once poa populations reach 75% or greater, the thinning of this green from wear and tear should lessen significantly each summer.

 The picture above is the new practice green and the dots you see are the poa plugs we started incorporating 12 months ago.  Normally this would be signs of ball marks but this green is used for putting only.  The dots are almost in aeration patterns, which means we have been successful in working our poa plugs into the aeration holes.   We will get more aggressive on this green moving forward so it is the same as 11 and the other practice green.

How Does Traffic Get Dispersed

 

Dr Hurley from Rutgers University put this picture out to show the traffic patterns of a single foursome on a golf green.  Notice the concentration of foot traffic around the cup and then how it gets dispersed from there.  Amazing when you think of how many footprints happen on a busy day of golf compared to this picture of just 4 golfers.  Now imagine the winter time, when hole locations do not get changed as often and the grass is not able to grow out of the traffic wear and tear!  Those 45-50 degree days during the winter while enjoyable and bonuses for golfers, probably not good for turf.  This is why we topdress heavily, aerate and make nutrient sprays through the winter months; to enable golfers to get those few extra rounds in and still have our greens perform at the highest level the following season.

Beating the Cold

 

With the temperatures hovering in the lower 40s, a good time to try and get ahead of the game this spring.  Roberto is starting to aeravate all the roughs now, so we do not have to do it come April.  This will alleviate a lot of compaction from last year.

Steve and Andrew are out rolling greens to get tire tracks out from our recent topdressing and spray.  We saw some decent frost heaving in the greens the past few weeks.  This will most likely be the last roll until mid to late March.

Cold weather is coming this time next week, so the ground will be frozen if temperatures stay true to the forecast.  Good to get these things done now and then it will be ideal to get around and get tree work done with frozen turf in early February.

Clean Up Continues

 

We are continuing to make good progress on the thinning of the tree line along 11 tees to allow more sunlight on 10 green and 11 tees.  Unfortunately this tree line is like an onion, the more we remove the more it stinks.  The bottom picture shows most of the trees are in decline that are along the property line and will have to come out.  We are being very cognizant of the safety issue off 11 tees and keeping a buffer from the white tees forward.   Once we finish removing trees, we will recontour the area and seed it to fescue.  Spruces will also be planted for screening along the fence line and a green mesh will be installed on the fence to block the view of cars.  If we can get an extra 2-3 hours of sunlight on 10 green by doing this will be a big improvement.  Stay tuned for further updates.

Mild Temperatures

 

With the milder temperatures so far this winter, we have been out making some nutrient treatments to greens and tees to protect them from foot traffic.  The cold weather Christmas week was the only reprieve the greens and tees have gotten this winter.  These sprays will give a little vigor to the plants so when spring time comes, the plants will have some reserves to work off of.

                                            

The fog in the picture above is something you would see during the summer months, but this was #1 last week when cold ground temperatures were mixing with warm air temperatures.  The fog was prevalent for a few days, leaving dew on the grass most of the day.  The past 2 years we have fought dollar spot on fairways and we saw new activity last week which is almost unheard of in January.