New Tee Aeration.

It's a good sign to see the aerator on the new tees. Aerate and topdress today and repeat in two weeks. Hoping to open for the long weekend.

Busy Start to 2015

It's hard to believe we have been open for less than a week. Staff continue striking jobs off their list before attention turns to daily mowing and grooming of the course. The weather is on the up turn which is good news for the thin areas coming out of the winter and for over all plant health. Regular grooming of the turf should be in full swing by the weekend with improvements to green surfaces soon to follow.

Concern is being voiced by membership over aggressive tree removals last fall and  this spring. The importance of full sun on the putting surfaces throughout the entire year cannot be taken lightly.

 

Our trees have become very large and the spruce framing the backs of the greens are a solid block for sun and air movement. Removing spruce trees in the off season creates a shocking contrast without the deciduous trees in full leaf.

 

Nearly all damaged areas this spring are a direct result of shade and insufficient surface drainage.

 

 

It is no coincidence that the shadows from the trees which haven't leafed yet match ice damage patterns on the greens.

 

 

Moving forward we are creating environments in which bent grass can be encouraged to grow which is the ultimate resistance against winter and ice damage.

 

 

More to come on our weekly blog updates.

Men's and Women's Opening Day Event!

The forecast is looking very promising over the next seven days as temperatures increase and a chance of rain looms overhead.

We will continue with the current arrangement of temporary greens over the weekend. The opportunity to generate ideal growing conditions using the forecast and covers is too great

to pass up. With any luck, the progress the 3^rd and 16^th greens have made over the last will week will continue throughout the weekend and you should be playing on them mid to late next week. The 13^th and 15^th greens are still a ways behind but we are seeing new growth push through the winter damage and it is important not to disturb it.

Syringing will occur daily throughout the course as keeping the surface moist is important for a speedy recover. Earlier this week we top dressed the greens before play. They require a couple more over the next two weeks as we begin grooming more for playability and not recovery. We will fit it in around play the best we can.

Thank you for your patience and enjoy your weekend!

Collar Dams

A common reason for ice formation on greens is what we refer to as a Collar Dam.

Over time, top dressing and bunker sand builds up on the collar, creating a roll and trapping water on the green. The water freezes and damage occurs as we see here on the 6th green.

The damaged area was sodded and the area leveled to allow for proper water drainage off the green. Hopefully, this will prevent damage from occurring in this area in the future.

Cleanup Begins!

 

Raking is finally underway as it has taken staff 3 days to remove the layer of brush that covered the course.

The brush pile near our maintenance building ready to be chipped. Still a few more trees to remove.

 

Covers went back on the greens yesterday. They help create a greenhouse effect which will speed up recovery time. We'll take peek on Monday before the snow. Yikes!