Reel to Reel

As mentioned in several previous posts, poa annua, our primary grass on greens, tees and fairways is susceptible to winter damage.  That unsettling fact always has me concerned heading into winter.  Although we have no control over the winter weather, we can control what we do for the plants to put them in the best position to succeed. Our winter preparation has not dramatically changed over the years.  Our goal is simple: to have as many strong plants as possible. To accomplish this, we take proactive measures with our maintenance practices starting at the end of the summer. At the end of August, we aerify.  Aerification relieves compaction, increases pore space, increases water infiltration, and provides an area for increased rooting. Reduced mowing late in the fall allows for increased leaf blade surface which allows for additional photosynthesis and better rooting. Sun angles in the autumn are reduced which decrease photosynthesis.  In our weekly sprays, we ...

The greens are now closed for the season.  The flags have been removed and the greens have been roped off to eliminate foot traffic.  Temporary flags have been placed in front of the greens.   Throughout the winter months and into early spring, the greens will go through several freeze/thaw cycles.  These conditions will leave the greens soft and extremely susceptible to a host of problems including, but not limited to: foot printing, root sheering, damage to the crown and death of the plant. Please stay off of the greens to help alleviate these potential problems.  Thank you for your cooperation in these efforts to protect the golf course and ensure the golf course is in optimal condition next season. Below is a short video from the USGA on winter play. https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/course-care/green-section-record/58/23/winter-play-on-golf-courses-video.html  

We were able to get the soil reliever out today after a 2.5 hour frost delay.  Deep-tine aerification plays a large role in our winter strategy in managing the greens.  Besides relieving compaction and fracturing the soil, the 10" deep holes provide a space for excess winter and spring moisture to move off of the surface.  We aerified at 3" x 5" spacing which works out to be about 12 holes per square foot. For example: #2 green = 48,240 holes created #8 green =  56,664 holes created #11 green = 69,324 holes created  12" long tines Mike on #6 green nice deep 10" holes ready to take any excess moisture this winter

It was an extremely productive week as we were able to winterize the irrigation system and make our final fungicide applications of the year on greens, tees and fairways.  These are two huge tasks crossed off our winter preparation list.  It looks like we timed it pretty well, as temperatures next week look to be hovering in the upper 30's. compressor hooked up to the pumphouse irrigation heads on #1 spraying fairways Most of the trees have dropped their leaves so we are in good shape on leaf clean-up. leaf clean-up on #2 leaf clean-up on #16 A big thanks to my staff for another great week.  We have a phenomenal group that continues to deliver a great product. 

The irrigation system, golf course bathrooms, and halfway house will be winterized Monday 11/7 and Tuesday 11/8.  We will be blowing air through the irrigation lines and the 1,500 irrigation heads that service the property.  This is a lengthy process and we appreciate your understanding as we will try to interfere with play as little as possible.

We have been going strong on leaf clean-up for nearly three weeks now.  It is hard to fathom how many leaves we have cleaned up during this stretch.  There is obviously not a precise way of counting leaves, and if you know me well enough, you know that I'm not patient enough to even try.  However, I do like math and I think it helps provide some context to many of the tasks we do on the golf course.  By measuring the crowns of the trees, as well as counting leaves in a square foot section and estimating how many times that tree is mulched, we can make an educated guess as to the number of leaves a tree drops. A maple tree with a canopy of 30 feet that has dropped 20 leaves per square foot would produce roughly 110,000 leaves.  An oak tree with a canopy of 60 feet that has dropped 20 leaves per square foot would produce roughly 340,000 leaves.  Regardless of the amount, we have taken care of millions of leaves thus far.  Looking at the trees today, I wo...