CCC Golf Course Update

I Gave Up...

2012-02-07T14:58:00.000-06:00

I can't help but feeling that the winter we are having is slowly slipping away. We are now into the second week of February and the ground remains completely unfrozen. With the long range forcast calling for continued "above average" temperatures, I have given up the notion that we will get frozen ground suitable for tree work. With that in mind, we have officially begun an abbreviated "tree season" where we will be pruning or removing trees from the course that pose safety hazards, are adversely effecting turf conditions, or are effecting golfers' ability to navigate a hole.

We have quite a few trees that are simply dying or are already dead that will be near the top of our removal list, and have many more that have outgrown their location and are overhanging a tee or fairway, or are inhibiting the growth of a nearby, more desireable tree. With proper pruning and selective removals we will highlight "specimen trees" by eliminating the clutter.

We ventured off the cartpath with our dumptruck to help speed up the process, but will likely keep it at ourshop and haul branched in with carts and trailers due to the soft ground. It is difficult to see in the above picture, but we did a little damage to the turf just getting our equipment set up on the grass. This is where frozen ground makes tree trimming much easier.

Because of the soft conditions, we are forced to "piece down" as many limbs as possible, leaving them piled at the base of the tree to act as a cushion for larger limbs and logs. This process also adds significantly to the amount of time it takes to remove a tree. With frozen ground we are more likely to drop the tree and then cut it up on the ground. This way is much safer and much more efficient. Unless we see frozen ground, we will continue to drop trees in small pieces.

Frosty but not Frozen

2012-02-06T14:36:00.000-06:00

I'm starting to worry that we won't have winter, but more of just an extended Indian Summer of sorts. While this warmer than average "off season" has been pleasant to work in, it has greatly inhibited our ability to get tree pruning and removal equipment onto the golf course. We have an abundance of tree work to do and so far have not been able to start because ground conditions have been too wet and too soft. This morning we had some freezing fog roll through that turned everything white and frigid looking (see pictures), but our ground is still soft and wet.

With the extended forcast looking like more of the same, we will likely give up on waiting for the ground to freeze and begin an abbreviated tree program. Instead of bringing our truck and chipper to the trees, we will leave it at the shop or on the perimeter of the course and bring trees to the chipper. This will be much slower and less efficient, but will avoid the damage that the heavy equipment will cause to the course. Maybe we'll have a cold snap later this month and in March that will allow some better progress.

The freezing fog seemed to produce a real life

black and white photo

Our driving range netting looked almost solid with

frost crystals

A close up of the frost crystals. Mother Nature's

lattice work!

Addressing "the root" of the problem...

2012-01-17T15:28:00.000-06:00

Having gone through a couple difficult summers in a row, we have noticed the full impact our trees have on the golf course, specifically through competition for both sunlight and water and nutrients. This past year it was painfully obvious that where tree roots and turf are fighting for the same inputs, the trees prevail. It has been shown that a mature tree can use in excess of 200 gallons of water per day, with Oaks, Elms, and Silver Maples being near the top of the charts. This is not good news for the turf at Champaign Country Club. These three species make up a large majority of our trees and in many cases we have 80' to 100' trees just yards off the fairways.

To address this issue we have embarked (pardon the pun) on an aggressive tree root pruning program that will involve nearly every tree that is near a fairway, tee, or a green. We accomplish the pruning through the use of a trencher that will physically sever the roots of the trees. Having spoken to colleagues and other industry experts I am confident that the root pruning will not only improve the turf in the effected areas, but will not adversely effect the trees being pruned. While we will address 90% of the root issues this winter, it is important to note that we plan on re-pruning many of these areas every three or so years to keep the invasive roots at bay. Future prunings will likely be done with less damaging equipment. Below are some pictures of the process.

Some areas we "spot pruned" by individual trees that have

caused turf issues (above), while others we simply trenched

down the entire tree line (below).

Notice in the above picture the solid mass of roots along the

right edge of the trench. Pruning these roots will eliminate thousands

of roots that have been competing with our turf!

Velocity & Expansions

2011-05-24T13:55:00.000-05:00

Last week we made the first of five Velocity applications on our fairways and tees and we are now in the midst of the "yellow flash" portion of the application. The picture above shows two small areas that didn't get treated and remain dark green, while the treated portions are yellowed out. The "yellow flash" becomes less evident after repeated sprays and it purely cosmetic. I expect the flash to last a few more days and then the bent grass will begin out-growing the Poa. Our plan is to repeat this application every four weeks throughout the season and hope to see positive results next spring.

Meanwhile, our green expansions are finally starting to really grow in! The recent warm weather has kick started the bentgrass and we are seeing daily improvements in the turf. We have heavy rolled the uneven new areas and will continue to aerify and roll throughout the season until the transition between old putting surface and new putting surface is seamless. These expansions have added an estimated 15% to 20% to our putting surface and will give us countless more pin locations. I will keep you posted with more pictures as we make further progress.

Trading in rough mowers for goats??

2011-04-27T15:23:00.000-05:00

Over the past several days we have been deluged with rain. The result has been an oversaturated golf course with overflowing ponds and standing water everywhere! While we have been able to get out and mow greens, our larger equipment has not been on the course for several days, and from the looks of the radar it will be several more days before we can even attempt to mow. Once we can start mowing it will take a couple days to get through the course and it will likely look similar to a hayfield right after harvest... frustrating for sure. As soon as we can, we will be putting in long hours on mowers to get through everything as soon as we possibly can. Please exercise patience as we work through a very wet golf course. I've included some pictures of #13 and #14 for your "enjoyment".

C'mon sun and wind!!

Satisfy Your Urge!

2011-03-10T15:28:00.000-06:00

We've finally ditched the snow for the year and the frost has officially left the ground! Yesterday, we put the flagsticks back in the greens indicating that they are open for play. Winter golf conditions should be expected, and no accessories are put out on the course yet. Over the next couple of weeks (as weather dictates) we will be bringing out the benches, tee markers, ball washers, etc. until finally the course will set for the golfing season. Also, because it is so early in the year, golf carts will not be available for some time yet. Our ground conditions are still very wet and will take some time to dry out enough to support cart traffic. Please be patient and enjoy a walk around the course!

As expected...

2011-02-17T14:06:00.000-06:00

With the recent warm up, I have finally gotten outside to get a look at some of our turf. As expected, we have a decent crop of snow mold. While historically we don't get enough prolonged snow cover to worry about snow mold on a large scale, the past two winters have caused some grief. With today (February 17th) being the first real day of "open turf", we have to go back to early December to find the last day without substantial snow cover. This is well beyond the 60 days of snow cover usually required to have snow mold issues. Whether we have Gray Snow Mold or Pink Snow Mold is the question, but it is likely we have a little of both. Also likely is that they are purely cosmetic and the fungus did not make it to the crown of the plant and cause a lethal infection.

So what now? With the snow cover all but gone and freezing temperatures in the horizon, the fungus will stop actively growing until freezing temperatures subside. When the ground conditions warrant, will be making an early fungicide application to take care of the snow mold and some other likely spring diseases. Once the turf starts actively growing, it will simply grow through the cosmetic effects of the disease.

Firewood Available

2011-01-28T09:43:00.000-06:00

We've been doing some tree work over the last two winters and have managed to accumulate a rather large amount of firewood. All of the soft wood (pine, etc.) has been hauled off and only oak and other hardwood remains. If you are local and would like some wood, just send me an email. We're happy to help you load and have a splitter available during working hours. About half of the oak was cut last year so it should be pretty seasoned!

A long break...

2011-01-12T14:48:00.000-06:00

I seem to make this promise once every year that I'll continue to post regularly on this blog, and every year I seem to fail. Maybe 2011 will be better!

A lot has happened in the nearly six months since my last post. Today I intend on catching you up on some of the projects we have done since August.

1. Strategic Improvement Plan: For the past several years we have been working with Fine Golf Design, Inc. out of Allentown, Pennsylvania on a "master plan" of sorts to address some recurring issues with our golf course. Mark Fine has collaborated with Scott Witter of Witter Design to come up with a plan to enhance our course in a way that will address some infastructure problems, and will also take our course back to a "classic design" as intended by our original architect, Tom Bendelow. The Strategic Improvement Plan, as we are calling it, addresses three major areas: bunker design and placement, our tree population, and our drainage. In addition to these three major items, it addresses some more subtle changes such as grassing lines, green shape, and tee orientation.

2. Green Expansions: Due to the difficult growing conditions during the summer of 2010, some of the fringes of our greens (primarily Poa annua) succumbed to the heat and needed reseeding. We decided to work with the Strategic Improvement Plan and expand the greens per Mark Fine's design as long as we needed to do some work anyways. Going into the winter we had good germination of the new fringes. As soon as spring "springs" we will get back on the fringes and begin the process of leveling them to the green surface.

3. Winter Work: We are well into the annual refinishing of all of our wooden golf course accessories. With the ample snowfall we have had thus far this winter, we have been able to make good progress on the accessories. Hopefully the winter will cooperate and let us get outside in the next month or so to get some much needed tree work accomplished.

As normally happens this time of year, our staff is getting antsy to get back outside. As a breed, we like to breath fresh air and being cooped up in a shop starts to cause cabin fever. I'll leave you with a shot of Lucy in her favorite spot... eyeing the squirrels. It pretty much sums up how our staff feels also!

Taking advantage of a break...

2010-08-18T06:41:00.000-05:00

After a long stretch of weather in the 90's (upper 90's in some cases) we have finally moved to a little cooler weather pattern. As we should, we are taking advantage of the cooler weather to catch up on some much needed work. We will be out in force over the next couple days eradicating the many weeds that have taken hold this summer. We will be using both physical removal and herbicide treatments to get the job done (see picture) and hope to have most of the weeds killed or removed by the time the hot weather comes back.

During the most recent heat wave, we were unable to deal with the weeds for several reasons. First, selective herbicides tend to lose their selectivity when applied during periods of high heat or when the turf is under stress. It is safe to say that our turf has definitely been under some stress lately! Secondly, the labor it takes to physically pull weeds was being directed at other projects, many dedicated to hoses just to keep our turf alive.

As we slowly transition from summer to fall, we will be out re-seeding many areas affected by the summer of 2010, and in some cases even laying new sod. Please continue to be patient and respect any "traffic directing" items such as ropes and/ or arrows. Soon we will be able to again enjoy the beauty that is Champaign Country Club!

Why does turf die in the summer?

2010-08-06T12:52:00.000-05:00

The summer of 2010 has proven to be a difficult on for turf managers. Nationwide, with very few exceptions, golf courses have borne the brunt of Mother Nature be it too wet, too dry, and without fail too hot. Here in central Illinois we are no exception. Our golf courses have experienced turf loss on a grand scale with very few exceptions. As it has worked out, the problems have been mainly with Poa annua. Naturally then, golf courses who have more Poa annua have had more difficulties and golf courses with less Poa annua have faired much better. The embedded video was produced to help explain the effects that heat has on turf. As you watch the video, consider the fact that here at CCC we have routinely seen 2" soil temperatures spike at 97 degrees in the heat of the afternoon! Difficult growing conditions to say the least!

We will continue to fight the fight, man the hoses, and baby our turf until cooler temperatures prevail (I can't wait) at which point we will begin making our way around the course to reseed areas that are too far gone to recover.

While we certainly haven't been the hardest hit in our area, we do have some trouble spots. Let's hope for a fall that is conducive to seed germination and subsequent growth!

Struggling...

2010-07-24T16:26:00.001-05:00

I'll be brief today as I have a golf course to try and baby through another day. Today I measured the 2" root zone temperature and, as you can see it is hot! About 96 degrees in fact... Supra-optimal is what the experts call this... I call it something else (which I will keep to myself). Combine the root zone temperature, humidity and nighttime lows in the upper 70's and you can see why we struggle to keep things pretty. Improvements will come, but right now we are simply focused on maintaining a solid stand of turf.

The weather is supposed to break tomorrow and we will drop our daily highs about 10 degrees, more importantly our nighttime lows will be dipping into the 60's for the first time in what seems like forever...

Drainage Pimple, Bunker Repairs (again)

2010-07-13T15:04:00.003-05:00

Mother Nature continues to keep us on our toes. This afternoon we recieved around 1" of rain in about 30 minutes while the Golf Shop guage showed nearly 2" (just about 220 yds north of our shop). After touring the golf course, it is apparant that the northen half of the golf course took much more rain than the south half! Crazy weather...

The deluge caused a rather large bulge in the 9th fairway due to an old clogged drain line. See picture and video to see just how much water was trapped under the sod!

As always, the heavy rain caused our bunkers to washout. We were able to start repairs right away and will continue the process tomorrow. Kudos to the crew for their hard work fixing our bunkers after heavy rains!

Disheartening Irony

2010-07-06T17:06:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, we suffered some turf loss due to "too much, too long" referring to the heat, humidity, and water on the golf course. Since that post, the humidity has pretty much left along with all excess water from the course, although the heat remains. Good news, right? Well not entirely. When I say the humidity left, I mean it really left! We have been experiencing ET's (evapotranspiration - a numerical value that refers to the amount of water lost during a day due to evaporation and plant transpiration) in the 0.3" range for over a week now. That basically means we have to supplement 0.3" of water just to break even, more to re-hydrate the soil. Currently, I am watering to the maximum capability of our irrigation system, about 320,000 gallons of water per night. It takes our system from 9pm to nearly 7am to put out this amount of water due to the supply situation at the pumphouse. With all of this water being used, I struggle to match the 0.3" of water.

Now to the irony... we have been seeing the worst wilt and dry turf around the areas where we lost turf due to an overabundance of water! I believe this is largely due to a compromised root system from the heat and saturated soils. So here I am watering the "wet spots" to prevent further turf loss! Frustrating to say the least.

We have been seeding into the areas where the turf will not recover and will continue to do so until we make it through the entire golf course. With cooperative weather I would expect this to be by the end of this week.

Too much, too long...

2010-06-28T14:54:00.000-05:00

Rain, heat, humidity... it all fits into the "Too much, too long..." title. Recently we've endured the toughest stretch of weather for several years with heat, and rain approaching record levels in June. Consider the following:

- As of today (June 28th) we are finishing up the 2nd wettest June on record, dating back to 1895. The average rainfall throughout the state is at 7.92", 4.1" above normal. Here at CCC we have recieved closer to 9" for the month, more than double the average.

- The month of June has been a warm one with the average temperature of 74.9 degrees, 3.9 degrees above normal. As of June 25th, this is the 10th warmest June on record. While 74.9 degrees does not seem all that warm, consider that it is the average, not the high. Our daytime high tempertures in the month of June were regularly in the upper 80's and lower 90's.

Anytime you combine near record heat and precipitation, you're bound to run into problems... and we did. Over the past week we had excessive rain, creating multiple areas on the golf course that were saturated with water, and in some cases submerged for days. With temperatures exceeding 90 degrees during the day and not dipping much below 75 degrees at night, the turf (specifically the Poa annua) in these wet areas was brought to the breaking point and we have been left with areas in our fairways and first cut of rough that will need some seeding and special attention. Over the next week or two we will be addressing these areas to bring them back to health. You will likely see some rope or stakes directing you away from the newly seeded areas.

Pictured below is #18 fairway where water sat for several days. This area has a higher Poa annua population due to the persistant wetness and suffered damage.

Now have a look at #9 fairway where we recently patched some damage with bent sod. This area stayed rather wet throughout the recent heat and the Poa suffered. Notice the healthy bent. This is a pretty good reason to press forward with our Velocity work to eliminate Poa and allow bent to flourish.

As I have said before, only bad things happen quickly on a golf course. Most of this turf damage happened in a matter of days, yet it will take weeks to recover. We will be treating the affected areas with extra special attention to ensure the fastest recovery possible.

Hot, Humid, and Wet...

2010-06-18T16:03:00.000-05:00

Three words us superintendents don't like in combination. Unfortunately we are in the middle of them and there doesn't seem to be much end in sight. Although our course is covered with fungicides and the immediate threat of a disease outbreak is minimal, the conditions are wet. We have roped off several areas (like the one shown on #17 fairway) to keep traffic out, hoping to minimize any golf cart damage during the wet period. The forcast is not showing much for rain over the next few days, so it is likely the ropes will be coming down. I would ask that all golfers use some common sense while negotiating our course and steer clear of noticeably we or roped areas!

In the meantime... go after those pins, the greens are holding!!

Persistance Pays Off

2010-06-04T13:42:00.001-05:00

Over the past four weeks we have been watching a mallard hen sit on her nest near our bag drop. She managed to pick a spot that was in the middle of two of the busiest sidewalks at the club, and right in the middle of a flower bed! Why would a duck pick such a spot that is so far from water and completely void of any sort of peace and quiet? Maybe she knew something... bowls of water and oyster crackers appeared as members and staff did their best to keep her comfortable, and from what I hear she even inherited a name... "Madeline" I think it is...

Either way, "Madeline's" persistance and patience have paid off as she has hatched a brace of baby ducks! Carley Cresap, our club horticulturist, counted seven babies and two unhatched eggs. Seeing that "Madeline" has some mothering skills, we will let her care for the babies and not disturb her. If you see children harrassing her, please instruct them to let her be. We will be excited to watch her raise her young..

A Tough Call...

2010-05-22T08:50:00.000-05:00

Making the decision to park all electric carts on a Saturday morning is not a decision many superintendents take lightly. The decision instantly kills a substantial amount of revenue for the day and turns away a fair amount of golfers. It's a lose-lose scenario across the board.

However difficult the decision is, superintendents know that it is their job to make tough decisions with the condition of the golf course in mind. If carts run when they shouldn't, the result is muddy wheel tracks throughout the golf course. These tracks will linger and ultimately result in poor conditions and thinned turf. Keeping the carts parked when it is too wet will cause an inconvenience for a day or two and will certainly frustrate golfers, but will prevent long term damage to the golf course.

Pictured above are some tracks produced when carts ran through a wet area. The damage is somewhat superficial, but nonetheless is there. There are areas of the course that are much more prone to damage than the spot pictured, which is why we decide to keep carts in when the course is too wet.

Research Dividends...

2010-05-07T10:19:00.000-05:00

After five seasons of research in conjunction with the University of Illinois, we have finally begun our large scale Velocity program! You have surely heard me talking about Velocity in the past, but if not I'll give you a quick crash course. Velocity is one of the only (and certainly the newest) products on the market that will successfully and selectively take Poa annua out of bentgrass. Here at CCC we have been doing test plots and trials for what seems like forever, and have finally honed in on a rate and application interval that will produce satisfactory results, but with minimal damage.

Our "large scale program" as I refer to it will include all fairways and tees. We will be treating every four weeks, depending on weather conditions.

To say I am looking forward to analyzing the results would be an understatement. My hope it that we are on the cusp of some major improvement in our bentgrass population, however it may take a couple seasons to come to fruition. Check in periodically for updates on our progress.

Silver Maple Blues

2010-04-29T13:54:00.000-05:00

What do you get when you cross a bunch of Silver Maples with a windy day in April? A mess!

Today and tomorrow the National Weather Service is issuing a Wind Advisory for Central Illinois with sustained wind between 25 mph and 35 mph with gusts of 45 mph. Combine that with a very warm spring that has produced a bumper crop of seeds and it makes for a frustrating day for both golfers and maintenance staff alike. A Buffalo Turbine Blower behind a light duty cart is our only tool that has a chance at keeping greens remotely clean. Despite our efforts however, this green will be covered with seeds again in about 15 minutes.

Fairways get covered just as quickly. Keeping fairways clean in heavy wind is near impossible. We will clean fairways once in the morning and concentrate on greens thereafter.

As we develop our tree plan you can be assured there will be no Silver Maples on the planting list...

Poa annua seedhead supression

2010-04-06T21:36:00.000-05:00

According to the Forsythia blooms, Growing Degree Day counters, salesmen, other superintendents, and last but not least my gut, it is time to take action against Poa annua seedheads. Annually here at CCC we enter into a many faceted battle against what many industry personnel have called the "super weed". We begin the battle with an application of growth regulators to control the emergence of seedheads. This application must be timed right in order for it to work, and the timing depends on a whole host of variables. Unfortunately, the growth regulators do produce some negative side effects ranging from off colored turf to increasing susceptibility to certain diseases, to increased problems with worm casts. Most of the side effects are related simply to the fact that we are slowing the growth of the turf (including the bent) during a time of year where we would like to have some good growth.

This year we are leaving #11 and #12 fairways out of the growth regulator application and will be observing the results. These two fairways were treated last year with Velocity and we will be using seedhead production to gauge our results. Once we have seedhead emergence, we will then treat with Velocity again to test its ability to "knock seedheads off" the plant. If this proves to be successful, we may be able to avoid some of the negative side effects of the spring growth regulator application in the future. The early Velocity application will segway nicely into the planned Velocity program that we will carry out throughout the 2010 season.

For a turf geek, these are indeed exciting times in our battle against Poa annua!

Please stay tuned to this blog to follow the many progress reports that will be coming this season...

What's With the Plastic??

2010-04-02T15:49:00.000-05:00

I talk a lot about the golf course and how much work we do to keep it beautiful and playable, but I don't very often talk about the landscaping at the club that so many have grown to love. It is entirely possible that the reason I don't talk much about the landscaping is because I don't have to think about it very often... I've got Carley for that. Carley, as many of you know, is responsible for (among other things) all landscaping at the club. She works incredibly hard to make sure I don't have to think about it. This spring she's drawing some attention with her "green" weed control efforts. She has selected several flower beds that have shown to have weed problems and sealed them in plastic. This seal will effectively sterilize the top few inches of soil (where the annual weed seeds are) and greatly reduce the need for in-season weed removal. We are hoping this experiment will prove successful and will free Carley's time this summer to tend to her many other tasks.

A Little Bit Closer...

2010-03-23T14:35:00.000-05:00

Although we began today with a good freeze, temperatures rebounded quickly and the guys were able to get out and make some progress. Today marks the third greens mowing of the year (not including the rolling done prior to mowing) and the day we started in on bunkers.

Steve Horsley mows #10 green

Carl, Alan, and Kenny get a bunker ready for the season

Over the next several days we will be working through the bunkers, working on general cleanup and Carley will be hard at getting her beds ready for the spring.

Congratulations Carley!!

2010-03-10T14:09:00.000-06:00

The Crew had the privelage this past weekend of watching one of our own tie the knot. Carley, our Club Horticulturist/ Arborist was married on March 6th to Marshall Cresap. It's not everyday that our crew dresses up in shirts and ties, let alone wedding dresses, so I couldn't resist the photo op! Our congratulations to Carley and Marshall and here's to a long life together!

Wild Goose Chase??

2010-03-04T12:14:00.000-06:00

Normally we try to avoid a wild goose chase, but with Lucy, we seek them out! As is normal for this time of year, we have a flock of non-resident geese that have taken a liking to our #13 pond. I haven't actually counted how many are in the flock, but I've been told there are about 70 individuals. While the geese are a nuisance and messy, all but about four will soon move on and not return as they are likely in migration and just "stopping by" to use our open water. Lucy has been working the flock and keeping them on the move the last few days, just making sure they don't get too comfortable at CCC! We recently received our 2010 Nuisance Animal Removal Permit that allows us to legally disrupt the nest of any mating pair that decides to call CCC home. The DNR strongly encourages property managers in urban areas to aquire this type of permit and take measures to not allow nesting. If geese are allowed to nest and hatch goslings, those goslings will likely attempt to nest in an area very near the spot they learned to fly. Just a few nesting pairs can reproduce into a very large resident flock if measures are not taken to control the population increase. I am hoping that Lucy's work will prevent any new pairs from nesting at CCC and possibly prevent our perennial nesting pair to move elsewear.

During my trips around the course with Lucy this spring we not only have been chasing geese, but have been keeping an eye on a hawk who has been on our property for some time now. This hawk is obviously quite mature and well fed as he is a very large bird. He has kept a close eye on our wearabouts also, frequently appearing in nearby trees when Lucy is out working the geese. We don't get too many opportunities to view wildlife other than squirrels here at CCC because of the urban nature of our location, so watching this hawk hunt has been quite a treat!

In Like a Lamb?

2010-03-01T14:44:00.004-06:00

I seem to be spending a lot of time lately listening to my kids talking about how March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb, but today seems more "lambish" than "lionish". Either way, the passing of February into March does something to me. It means the beginning of the NCAA Tournament ("March Madness" if you will), the gradual melting of snow cover, and the subsequent influx of last year's laborers checking in to find out when we will need them back. Today seems to encompass all three of the aforementioned milestones: we spent lunch determining that my assistant Mick will be handling the annual NCAA pool this year, one of my seasonal guys showed up at the shop to tell me how "ready" he was to get back to work, and I got a chance to drive the course and actually look at turf for a change. What I found was predictable based on the winter we've had this year.

Based on data from the Illinois State Climatologist Office, we have had measureable snow cover since Christmas. Around Central Illinois, that is a long time. Any time there is snow cover for that long (65 days to be exact) us turf managers start to worry about snow mold. During my drive around the course today, I confirmed my suspicion that snow mold will indeed rear its ugly head in 2010. My observations were as follows: Our greens (at least the sections that aren't still covered with snow) are generally clean. I found a few small patches of what I believe to be Pink Snow Mold. I am not terribly worried about the greens. Our fairways and tees did not fare so well however. I noticed areas of fairways, mostly areas with the highest Poa annua content, had multiple patches of most likely Gray Snow Mold (see top picture). Gray Snow Mold forms under snow cover and has a Gray ring of mycellium around a dead patch of turf. Gray Snow Mold is very familiar to turf managers up north of us, but generally is not much of an issue here in Central Illinois. We usually do not have enough snow cover to allow its development. Pink Snow Mold is more common, but historically has not been a big issue at CCC. In addition to the Gray Snow Mold on our tees and fairways, we have a "patch disease" (see lower picture) that is present on some of our collars. I will be doing a bit more observing to diagnose the exact fungus responsible, but it seems to be rather superficial in nature. I will be watching all of these diseases in the coming week or so to determine if a fungicide treatment is necessary.

2010 Golf Industry Show

2010-02-16T14:54:00.001-06:00

Working in the Midwest affords me the pleasure of having some “down time” in which to work on things I don’t necessarily have much time for in the summer. Recently, I have been working on some continuing education by attending the annual Golf Industry Show in San Diego, California. This year (due to the locale) my family chose to attend with me, although they opted out of education and visiting the trade show and chose relaxation and visiting the beaches instead! Smart family if you ask me…

I didn’t get to frequent the beach or partake in the relaxation as much, but instead furthered my education and spent a day at the trade show learning about some of the industry’s newest innovations. I attended three seminars that seemed very appropriate for upcoming events at the club. The first seminar was about planning and costing a major project on the golf course. As many of you know, 2010 will be a year of “planning” rather than “doing” on the golf course. We will be working with a golf course architect to come up with solutions to the various challenges we face on the golf course. This planning will give us a blueprint as to how to most effectively and economically tackle these challenges. In the seminar, much time was devoted to how to effectively organize a project and ensure its success. I greatly look forward to the planning process that will happen in 2010.

The second seminar I attended was more about personal goals than big picture goals. It has long been my professional goal to become a Certified Golf Course Superintendent. I have made it my personal goal to achieve this in 2011. The seminar thoroughly laid out all that is involved with applying for and succeeding in the certification process. It will be a challenge to complete all of the facets in a 12 month period, but it will be a challenge worth taking!

My final seminar was all about the maintenance facility itself. As many of you can relate, the maintenance facility is not a place that is “seen” by the membership, in fact, some members may not even know of its existence. It is largely for this reason that maintenance facilities are forgotten about and largely misunderstood. The “barn” as most refer to it is actually a far cry from a barn. Nationwide, maintenance “barns” house an average of $1.2 million dollars worth of equipment and inventory needed to protect and maintain the backbone of the club. Our scenario is not much different than the national average. In our case, we house 16 employees in peak season and spend $700k of the club’s money on the course. An efficient operation is a necessity, especially in these financial times. It will be my goal (one of many) in this planning year of 2010, to investigate and diagnose inefficiencies within my department. The ultimate goal will be to find solutions that will be included in future club improvements.

Besides the seminars, I spent the better part of a day at the trade show looking at some of the many new products available this year. High on my list of things to research is the new Jacobsen Eclipse triplex mower. We currently have "E-plexes" which are all electric triplexes and occasionally have issues with the longevity of the batteries. Our lease expires after this year and we will be replacing those E-plexes with something different. The new Eclipse hybrid has a small gas (or diesel) engine that runs a generator that, in turn, runs the on board electric components. This unit is much improved from our current units and I can't wait for my demo this summer. The other product that sparked my interest was a bunker liner that doesn't require you to hand rake bunkers after installation. I will be researching this product more this year in preparation of our upcoming bunker work.

Blogging about Blogging

2010-02-01T14:33:00.001-06:00

I was talking with a member the other day and he was telling me how much he enjoyed reading my newsletter articles and the e-mail update I used to send out. "How come you don't send out that E-Update anymore?" was the next obvious question. I obviously took the opportunity to promote my blog and directed him on how he could navigate his way to the blog. It got me thinking though... I've spent a considerable amount of time setting up this blog, adding "gadgets" that make it both user friendly and aesthetically pleasing, updating the blog with as much regularity as possible (I'm getting better), learning to add pictures, videos, etc, but I have no idea if anyone is even looking at it!

I called upon my neighbor (who is way smarter than me) to help me out and he pointed me to Google Analytics, a free program to track gobs of information on any website. I subsequently investigated Google Analytics signed up my blog to be tracked. I now have the ablilty to track how many hits per day my blog gets...

...and I can even see from which cities the hits originate...

This is probably not very new technology, but "wow" I say, it's pretty cool what you can do for free these days! Now that I have the ability to track hits and find out some information about each hit (don't worry I can't find out "who" is on my blog, just what you are looking at) my next challenge will be to get the word out to my membership and have them use this blog for it's original intent. This blog is such a great tool to get information out to the masses in a very short time, it would be a shame if it's intended audience isn't watching. Feel free to comment with any suggestions!

Tree Work Continues...

2010-01-25T13:54:00.003-06:00

We lost all of our snow over the weekend due to the warm weather we had. Now with temperatures going back down below freezing we should see the ground re-freeze and our outdoor work will be back in full swing. Today, with the ground still soft, we were limited in where we could go, but were able to take down the Oak on #12 tee that has been dying for several years due to a vascular disease. We have been watching this tree for several years and decided this summer that we would finally take it out this winter. As you can see in the picture, it was nearly void of leaves this past year and several branches were beginning to rot.

We will also be taking down a medium sized Ash tree on the opposite side of the #12 tee. The absence of these two trees will allow for more sunlight on the tee provide for a more open tee shot. Their absense should also help improve turf quality and lessen the impact of earthworms on the tee.

Dangerous Situation...

2010-01-21T13:57:00.001-06:00

Our recent "warm up" has melted away quite a bit of our snow cover and caused our underground drainage system to flow again. The result is the melting of our pond ice both from the top and the bottom. While it is never a good idea to venture out on our ponds in the winter, the next few weeks will be more dangerous than usual.

Our ponds are "in-line" with our drainage system and quite a bit of water travels through them on a daily basis. Because of this water movement, the ice that forms on the ponds is rarely predictable. It may seem thick enough to walk or skate on, but there are plenty of thin areas that are largely unnoticeable from above. The pond on #13 is especially prone to this and, in fact, rarely completely freezes over. You, or your children, should NEVER be on the ice on #13 pond. Our ponds are relatively shallow, about 5' to 6' deep, but plenty deep if a child should happen to go through.

Please make it a practice to avoid our ponds in the winter and remind your children the same. As I make my occasional rounds throughout the winter, I am always impressed with the amount of use our course gets in the off season. With a little common sense we can ensure that it is a safe off season!

Time flies when you're having fun...

2010-01-15T12:56:00.002-06:00

How do you survive the monotany of painting the lettering on all 144 tee markers?

Movies!

Audio/ Visual Master (also pronounced as-sist-ant sup-er-in-ten-dent) Mick Tempel has once again set up his TV with a surround sound home theater system for the annual tee marker painting project (also known as the "CCC Film Festival"). Staffers have submitted their recommendations for movies to watch, tee markers are prepped, and the party is on! We expect to be finished with the tee markers in about a week. Last year the entire season of "24" was viewed along with a few choice movies. This year Jack Baur is being pushed aside for some newly released movies!

Sometimes creature comforts make even the most tedious of projects go by quickly! Now please excuse me, I've got some popcorn to make...

Tee marker, tee markers, and more tee markers...

2010-01-13T11:53:00.001-06:00

As I mentioned in my last post, the recent snowfall has sort of forced us indoors and caused us to change modes from tree work to indoor jobs. One of the many required winter tasks is the refinishing of all of our wooden course accessories, most notably our custom tee markers. We have been making significant progress on the tee markers with nearly all of the prep work complete. Pictured below are some of the grounds staff hard at work. Each marker must have all of the lettering cleaned out and must be completely sanded down before new paint and sealer are applied. We usually plan for the better part of two weeks just to get through tee markers. The end result is a custom tee marker that is easy to read, and well protected from the weather extremes of the golfing season. Kudos to the maintenance staff for their hard and very tedious work on the tee markers and all of the course accessories.

Winter Bliss!

2010-01-07T14:18:00.001-06:00

As memories of the 2009 golf season slowly fade to the deeper reaches of my mind, I am reminded of yet another reason I love living and working in the Midwest....SNOW! Last night we were treated to a 6" snowfall which puts our snow cover total to around 8" (depending on where you measure, of course.) This is good news for the winter activists as cross country skis and sleds will be the common mode of transportation around the course for the next few weeks. The 8" of snow is bad news, however, for our outdoor winter work as turf equipment does not fair well in the deep snow. Until the snow melts down a little (or blows away) we will be concentrating our efforts indoors. Our many "refinishing projects" will see some progress and, with a little help from Mother Nature, we'll be back outside in a few weeks.

A Likely Challenge

2009-12-10T13:47:00.001-06:00

I recently had the opportunity to attend a symposium with Carley and Alan, our two tree experts. The symposium was hosted by the University of Illinois in conjunction with the Illinois Department of Agriculture and spent six hours covering the topic of the Emerald Ash Borer.

The Emerald Ash Borer (or EAB) is an exotic pest that was brought in from China. It, like many borers, attacks a specific type of tree. Unlike native borers however, the EAB tends to attack healthy trees and causes a 100% mortality rate on trees it infects. To date, the EAB has destroyed tens of millions of Ash trees in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois and is on the move. Currently, EAB has claimed trees as close to us as Bloomington, IL. Some experts predicts that the EAB will eventually eliminate Ash trees alltogether.

Here at CCC, we have reason to be concerned. With around 50 Ash trees, many of which are quite mature, the EAB will certainly make its mark. We will be making regular inspections of our Ash trees, looking for the tell-tail "D-shaped" exit holes, and will be peeling bark on any Ash tree taken down due to poor health. As part of our ever-evolving tree plan, we will look to diversify our tree population with species that are native to our area and are not yet well represented at CCC.

Welcome to Lucy!

2009-09-27T09:53:00.000-05:00

Introducing "Lucy" to the CCC Maintenance Staff!

My family and I recently decided there was a need to fill the void left by the passing of Maggie, our 12 year old Brittany. Maggie had been with our family for her entire life and was a veteran of three golf courses. She has been missed by both the Rinks and the CCC Maintenance Staff.

This past weekend, my wife came across a listing for Brittany pups located near Brazil, IN and, quite honestly, there was very little discussion involving the decision to get a new puppy. We all new it was time!

"Lucy" was chosen out of the litter and named by my 4-year-old daughter, Sarah. Lucy comes from a long line of champion hunting dogs and will surely find a warm and exciting home both at the Rinks house and at CCC! Over the next weeks, months, and years you will surely get to know Lucy as she joins me on my morning rounds and accompanies me throughout the day on the course.

2009 Fall Aerification/ Demo Equipment

2009-09-18T12:54:00.000-05:00

First of all, my apologies for not posting for awhile. My intent is to post frequently to keep you abreast of all that is happening on the course at CCC, and I haven't exactly fulfilled my end of the bargain. Again, my apologies.

Moving on to the golf course... another round of aerification has come and gone and with the cooperation of Mother Nature, we were able to complete the entire course in the two days. Every year it is our goal to finish in two days, but occasionally Mother Nature throws a curve ball and we have to finish the course on day three. This fall we had the opportunity to look at some new pieces of aerification equipment perform on our course (demos) and so far the results are just so-so. Our current aerification is either not ours or is getting very old and temperamental and will need to be replaced soon, but with what? I lined up several demonstrations with my John Deere and Toro salesmen to see what was out there. Both companies brought with them three pieces of equipment: a greens aerator, a fairway aerator, and a core pulverizer. The Toro fairway aerator actually pulls the core pulverizer (see embedded "One Pass Operation" video)and makes for a "one pass operation." While conceptually this is a great thing, logistically it becomes difficult. We had some "set up issues" with the Toro aerator causing some heaving of the turf while being aerified. While the heaving itself isn't a major problem, the fact that the pulverizer was being pulled six feet behind the aerator was. The heaved turf wasn't able to be pressed back down and frequently would get caught up in the pulverizer causing damage to the fairway. Certainly not what we want. Unfortunately the "set up issue" was not resolved and the demo fell short of expectations.

The John Deere fairway aerator (see embedded "JD 1500 Aerator" video) performed much better, but still caused some excessive heaving and subsequent damage to the fairways.

When all was said and done, the end result was better performance from our two old-and-tempermental machines than the two new demo units. Toro has already asked for a "re-do" next spring now that they have figured out the correct set up for the machine. I've got a bit of time to decide on that one.

The greens aeration went very well. We pulled 3/8" cores, harvested the cores off the greens and topdressed heavily to fill the holes. We sped throught the actual aerification process due to the two demo units we had in addition to the two older Toro aerators we borrow from HG Golf Properties. As expected the new demo units performed circles around the two older units. Toro's ProCore 648 (see embedded "ProCore 648" video) performed well as expected, finishing 5 greens to John Deere's three.

Both units pulled excellent cores and the holes were untufted and vertical. I'd give the edge to John Deere on hole quality (and subsequent recovery) but to Toro for overall productivity and versatility.

The demonstrations, as chaotic as they were, were truly beneficial for the "due diligence" that will be needed as we start thinking about equipment replacement. None of the equipment is cheap (individual units ranging from $15k to $30k) but is an essential part of a fleet of maintenance equipment.

A Needed Break...and more.

2009-07-07T07:33:00.001-05:00

Every year around the 4th of July, I deal with burnout. My crew, tired from the seemingly endless "double weekends" and 5am starts of June, starts to slow down. My turf, weary of Mother Nature's abuse, cries for a few days of rest. My kids, engrossed in their summer activities, ask their Mom when Dad is going to eat breakfast at home again. Simply stated, round about this time of the year, we all need a long weekend. Thankfully in mid-July we have a brief break from weekend events and we are able to rotate long weekends through the entire crew, recharging everyone's batteries for another intense August.

This year the turf even got a long weekend. After a fairly intense 10 day heat wave that took its toll on both staff and course, the 4th of July brought with it moderate, even cool weather. This "break in the cycle" allowed for the beginnings of turf recovery and stifled some of the annual burnout issues I see throughout my department. Finally, Mother Nature shows a little compassion!

I have been watching our "large scale" Velocity experiment throughout the heat wave and subsequent cool down period and I am encouraged by the early results. Last week we reached the peak of the "ugliness" with the predicted "yellow flash" followed by the decline of the Poa annua. During the heat wave, the recovery of the bent was slow, painfully slow to be accurate. With the moderating of the temperatures, we have seen the bentgrass kick into high gear and is now looking very healthy. The Poa annua, however, is still down although even it is starting to perk up. We are currently in week three of the spray interval and by all accounts we are getting predictable results. It is during week three and four of the interval that we gain the most on the Poa due to it's continued slow recovery. Bentgrass has the advantage. Once the Poa starts looking happy again (in two weeks) we will make another application of Velocity, starting the process over again. Each application will see an overall increase in the bentgrass population, which will in turn speed the recovery of the fairway. Exciting times for closet agronomists here at CCC!

As soon as I have a working camera again (it's being shipped) I will post some pictures of #11 fairway. As you play, notice the damage to the fairway and let me know what you think. After all, our experiment on #11 is being done to gauge our "threshold" or tolerance to the injury that Velocity produces. Your feedback will help us plan our future use of this product.

Velocity Update

2009-06-25T16:09:00.000-05:00

You may have noticed our Velocity trial on #12 "flashing" yellow recently. The yellow flash is a good indicator that an application has recently been made and is working. We have made an application to our #11 fairway and I expect to see the flash in the next couple days. We have made the determination that "the flash" is the most noticeable and most negative aspect of this chemical, but only lasts a short time and will become less noticeable as we make more applications. Thus far in the trial we have seen very predictable results. A few days after an application we see the flash, which is followed by about two weeks of weakened Poa annua while the bentgrass remains strong. During the fourth week of the interval, we see the Poa annua begin recovery. Our trial in #11 fairway is our first "large scale" trial and will be exciting to watch. We have created a "control plot" at the 200 yard marker and will use it to check the effectiveness of the trial as compared to an untreated fairway. You will likely notice the Poa annua decline, but will hopefully still enjoy a quality fairway during the process. Please comment on this blog or email me with any questions regarding the trial. As we get more "photogenic" results I will post some pictures.

Summer is here!

2009-06-23T11:46:00.000-05:00

After reviewing the 10-Day Forcast it has become obvious to me that we are in the beginning stages of our first heat wave of the summer. Nowhere in the aforementioned forcast did it call for high temperatures below 90. What does this mean for the golf course? It means several things:
1. We will be a petri dish for fungi unless we are on top of our fungicide treatments. The good news is that we are, and I don't expect any major disease occurances. We will, however, be vigilant.
2. Our maintenance staff will be starting at 5:00am instead of the regular 6:00am in order to get out of the heat sooner.
3. We will be closely monitoring water useage. When the heat and humidity are up, too much water can be very problematic. We will only irrigate when absolutely necessary and will hope to catch a break from the rains until the temperature cools a bit.
4. The staffer in charge of filling watercoolers has just been elevated in the heirarchy. Our watercoolers will be serviced daily at a minimum, more often if necessary.

As you go about your day, or round of golf, be sure to monitor your pace and drink plenty of water. A little extra vigilance will ensure that everyone has a safe and healthy day.

See you on the course!

Another rainy day...

2009-06-22T10:26:00.000-05:00

Well, another topdressing has been rained out. It seems that we can't catch a break in the weather this year... certainly not on Mondays! With the overabundance of rain that we've had, the frequently rained out topdressing, and now impending 10 days of 90 degrees or more, I am starting to get edgy about our greens. We have scheduled a "venting" for next Monday (June 29th) to open up our greens and let them breath. The profile has remained wet for so long that conditions below the surface are almost certainly getting anaerobic. Not good for a root system! Our venting will basically be a very small tine aerification with "star tines." Star tines are just what they sound like, aerification tines in the shape of a star. This unique shape produces a relatively small hole with an abundance of surface area to allow for air exchange. The goal will be to allow our greens to breath, and not adversely effect the putting surface. Pictures of the process will be forthcoming.

Almost Complete...

2009-06-05T13:28:00.001-05:00

Work began yesterday on the new artificial tee line at the back of our practice tee. With the excavation of the old and the pouring of the new concrete pad, we are 2/3 of the way to completion. Our new hitting surface arrived on Wednesday and will be installed on Monday. By Tuesday morning it will be playable.

Encouraging results!

2009-06-01T15:01:00.000-05:00

As you make your way down #11 fairway you may have noticed some markings around the 150 yard marker. These markings deliniate the boundaries of our 2008 Velocity trial done in conjunction with the University of Illinois Turf Department. We have done these trials since 2004 and have slowly honed in on the best rate/application interval combination.

A little background information first... Velocity is a herbicide that is relatively new to the turf market that, among other things, claims to successfully remove Poa annua from a stand of bentgrass. This very thing has been elusive and sought after by superintendents for years and now, it seems, we may have found something. Early on in the trials it was very evident that Velocity worked. In fact it worked so well that most superintendents (including myself) wouldn't consider using it! With the older rates and application intervals, the trials showed us that the Poa annua would die out and leave a void in the turf. Seeding was usually necessary to fill the void and frequently Poa annua seed would germinate alongside the new bentgrass. The net result was a damaged fairway and a small gain on the Poa. At CCC we decided to take a "less aggressive" approach and go after the Poa annua with selective growth regulators so that we would never have any voids in the turf.

Recently, through Velocity trials similar to those conducted on our course, we have found that longer application intervals were the ticket to a slow transition to pure bentgrass. While conducting these trials, we became keenly aware that within our Poa annua patches was a good amount of bentgrass. With this new approach, we have been able to injure (not kill) the Poa annua at monthly intervals, allowing the bentgrass to make a surge. Repeating this process monthly for five months virtually eliminated the Poa annua all together. Click on the picture embedded in this blog and you will see one of the plots on #11 fairway. You will notice (if you look closely) that below the plot there is a fair amount of lime green Poa annua. Within the plot there is virtually none. The University rated this plot at 1% Poa annua. The encouraging aspect of this plot is that we never saw the Poa dying out, it just slowly went away! We will be repeating this entire trial, plus a few more protocols, on #12 fairway in 2009 and will be treating the entirety of #11 fairway. I will post pictures and thoughts as we continue through the season with this exciting research.

What the....!

2009-06-01T14:32:00.000-05:00

What do you get when you hire an ex-sports turf manager at a country club? You get a ballfield on your practice green!

Assistant Superintendent Mick Tempel called upon his past to create a "to scale" ballpark on the west half of our putting green. "CCC Field" was used for the CICCA Ladies Golf Tournament and by all accounts was a "home run!"

On the rest of the course, we are preparing for the busiest month of the year with Ladies CICCA, Men's Member-Guest, Club Championship and the beginning of the Juniors Program. It is safe to say, my staff will be tired by the end of the month. Over the next month I will be bloggining about our new Velocity trial on #12 among other things so keep checking back for updates!

Catching Up

2009-05-06T14:37:00.000-05:00

As the rainy days slowly fade from memory, we are finally able to "catch up" with our much needed mowing. We have now mowed the entire course twice since the rains stopped and will need to get through it one more time before we finally achieve that quality cut that we are seeking. Thanks to all of our recent golfers for keeping their carts out of the wet spots and allowing our Greens and Grounds staff to catch up with the mowing!

Inflow > Outflow = Overflowing ponds!

2009-04-30T13:55:00.000-05:00

I am officially sick of the rain. While yesterday seemed to be a bit of a reprieve from the rains, it was short lived. Precipitation moved in again early this morning and dumped varying intensities of rain nearly all day. According to the radar, more is on its way. As you can tell from the picture, #14 pond has decided it's had enough and is now flowing down 14 fairway into #13 pond. We will likely not be able to mow anything tomorrow, with the exception of greens, but will again try to prep the bunkers for the weekend. I will have several Greens and Grounds staff on mowers this Saturday and Sunday, weather permitting, to try and make up some ground on our now very long rough.

Where's the Sun??

2009-04-29T14:58:00.000-05:00

Monday afternoon's rain persisted overnight and into early Tuesday morning. When all was said and done, we had gotten around 1.5". On Tuesday morning we changed gears from aerification to bunker pumping and edging to try to salvage some play on Wednesday. Thankfully we saw no measureable rain on Tuesday and were able to get the bunkers playable by this morning, unfortunately the course remained too wet to run carts.

With the course still soaked, and more rain in the forcast, we made the decision to try and mow the high areas in the rough and to continue fairway aerification. With the solid tines on the aerators and no plugs to clean up, the soft ground actually made for some easy aerating. We are hoping the rain holds off long enough tomorrow (Thursday) to allow for some morning golf and some rushed mowing. Maybe we'll get lucky and the rain simply won't arrive!

Aerification Update

2009-04-27T15:50:00.000-05:00

As the rain settles in, I am feeling good about the decision to not aerify greens today. Had we attempted greens today, we would have been caught by the rain and would be in for a week or two of "fighting" sand and bumpy putting conditions. Since we elected to forego greens, we will incorporate a few "mini-aerifications" during the season with small diameter solid tines. These aerifications will not adversely affect putting conditions for more than a day or two.

Despite the impending rain, we were able to successfully aerify fairways on holes 1 through 6, and finished tees and collars on 1 through 5. As weather permits we will continue to work our way around the golf course until we have finished.

Welcome to my Blog!

2009-04-26T09:01:00.000-05:00

Thanks for checking in! It is my intention to use this blog much in the same way I have used my periodic e-mail blasts. I intend on posting frequently and utilizing pictures of the course, events, etc. to help update and educate anyone visiting this blog. Please sign up to follow this blog and I believe you will be notified whenever I post new information!

Enjoy the blog and never hesitate to comment on anything, or get in touch with me personally to answer any questions you may have.

Regards,

Ben