Winter Damage Pictures

Here are a few pictures of the greens last Friday. Beginning to green up this week after the rain.

Course Update April 2014

Course Update

April 9, 2014.

As the snow and ice melts the damage left behind from the hardest winter I have seen in my career is becoming evident. It's took 3 days to chip and clear off the ice and snow on the greens but we finally have the covers off. Many courses across the Province managing Poa Annua on their greens have suffered significant winter damage. We also have sustained some level of damage on all but 6 of our greens. 

It is still too early to distinguish between tissue and crown damage at this point in time. Rain and warmer temperature expected over the next week will encourage growth and help us better differentiate between the two. Tissue damage will grow out quickly, crown damage means the plant is dead. It seems no matter the approach taken to manage ice over the winter the outcome was inevitable speaking with my peers.

The ice caused more damage to our trees than we had first thought. It was difficult to see all the debris until the melt over the past week. Clean up will be a long process but the greens will require that time to heal. Our staff is ready for the challenge and eager to start.

So where do we go from here? Staff have returned  back to work this week to begin course clean up and make preparations for opening. The health of the greens will dictate opening which is still some time away. We will take it week by week. We will encourage growth on the greens by reapplying covers, incorporating a specific nutrient program which works better in cooler weather stimulating new growth and over seeding the affected areas. It will take time. The biggest contributing factor will be the weather, I figure Mother Nature owes us that much.

I have uploaded a few pictures on my Twitter account @mark_piccolo for members to see. We will continue to keep everyone updated with the progress. If walking on the course please avoid stepping on the greens, they are very soft and impressionable. Avoid the tree lines as they’re many hanging limbs and we are concerned for your safety.

Pictures to come!

Regards

Mark Piccolo

Golf Course Superintendent

Course Opening April 16, 2013

As I look back at our opening dates over the years,  we consistently open sometime between April 10-14.  All things considered we are not that far off that this year.  Last year was truly out of the ordinary so we won't mention it again. Now that the weather is finally co-operating, staff is busy preparing the course for next Tuesday.

So, what does it take to prepair the course for opening day?

It takes nearly 2 weeks to complete all of the various tasks. Greens covers are removed, snow fence is taken down, damaged trees are pruned and large fallen branches are chipped. Greens, tees and fairways are cleaned, then staff begin hand raking the entire course. This alone takes 4 to 5 days. Greens are rolled several times smoothing out frost heaving and bumps from the drill and fill back in the fall. Greens and tees are then verti-cut and mowed. Ideally, we would like to get 4 or 5 cuts on the greens prior to opening and 2 on the tees and fairways. Next, we get into bunkers which consists of edging, re-arranging sand and adding some if needed. The irrigation system needs to be charged and tested and all the course hardware is placed back out onto the golf course. We can't forget about the clubhouse area, this is an integral part of the private club atmosphere and needs to be presentable for opening day and that's just the first page of our list!
Our efficiency in getting work done declines once the course opens. The more we complete prior to opening day the less we interfere with members playing and that's what it is all about.

Here's a picture of our 5th fairway after being cut today prior to the rains expected tonight.

Covers Come Off Today

Staff are back at it this week as spring slowly arrives. Covers are being removed today despite the cool weather  predicted for this week. Below is photo of the 5th green. Notice the recovery of the drill and fill holes already started from the greenhouse affect provide by the covers. Still no word on opening day!

Still Waiting!

The feeling is like reaching for a quarter that has fallen beside your seat and you can't get it. It's incredible how different weather can be from one year to the next. We were only 3 days from opening last year at this time. This year we are mostly snow covered with below seasonal temperatures forecast for the next week.
We hope to start tinkering on the course after Easter and remove the covers from the greens if weather permits.
We will keep you informed with our progress, and let you know in the next week or so of our planned opening date. It's to early to tell yet!

I would like to welcome Steve Percy and Ben Bell to our team this year. Steve's experiences are from Grey Silo and The National, Ben's experiences are from Rebel Creek and Grey Silo. They will complement our staff nicely and look forward to working with them.

Go Leafs!