Course Notes, 9/4/26

It seems that summer has decided to fight to the end and bring some real heat and humidity to our area after a very cool and rainy second half of August. But football is in full swing at both the high school and college levels, and I see a lot of pumpkin spice flavored food and drink being advertised, so fall has to be on its way in at some point! With that being said, below are a few short updates on what we have seen and are working on outside on the course:

Staffing Update

I cannot thank my summer staff enough for their tireless work on the golf course and grounds. They all did a tremendous job and are already missed. Our staffing levels are now down about half from our peak staffing level and we have entered our spring/fall maintenance routines, where we do not perform all tasks daily like we do in the summer time simply based on how many staff members we have. We are also onboarding 2 new students as a partnership with local high schools to give these kids real world experience and exposure to a career in golf course maintenance.

Turf Growth and Disease Issues

It was no surprise that the extreme heat and humidity the last 3 weeks have made the golf course both quick growing and a complete petri dish. You may have noticed your lawn growing at a very rapid rate and had to mow it multiple times a week just to keep up, and the course rough was no different. The heat this week has finally slowed the grouwth rates down where it has been more manageable to maintain.

The weather created a true oasis for fungal diseases to impact our turf as well, and had our sprayers out in full force weekly. The tees has been the most impacted, mainly by a disease called dollar spot. This fungus shows out as tiny brown lesions on the turf, and luckily is cosmetic in damage impact. The areas impacted were treated twice in the last 14 days and are showing good signs of recovery. Unfortunately there was an issue with our sprayer this week that resulted in some over application of product and tip burn tracking on the tees. I do not see any permanent damage to the turf and this injury will recover in a week or 2.

Sand Mounds on Greens

You also may have noticed tiny piles of sand on the greens in the late afternoons. These are caused by the burrowing of the Seed Corn Beetle, and will go away in a week or so once their life cycle completes itself. They are not damaging the turf at this time.

Practice Tee Renovation

Finally, I wanted to review the upcoming renovation to our practice tee. The goals of this project are to fully restore the tee to a new, flat surface with new turf that has better genetics and increased divot recovery times. As all of you have noticed, 30 years of use has created a tee that is uneven and contains a patchwork of grasses that require different maintenance techniques and irrigation needs.

The tee will be renovated to a newer variety of bluegrass called HGT. This bluegrass can be mowed to a 1/2 inch in height, is much more tolerant to drought, heat, and the fungal diseases our area experiences annually, and the best part, heals in quicker after a divot is made. These bluegrasses spread via underground stems called rhizomes. When a divot is taken, much more hearty vegetative material is left below the point of club impact, as the picture above shows. This material, when filled with sand to the surface, will recover much quicker than what we have used in the past. I have visited a few clubs that have performed this renovation successfully, like Oakland Hills where I took these pictures.

Beginning this coming Tuesday, we will apply 2 rounds of glyphosate to fully kill off the existing turf on the tee. These applications will take place on days where the practice facility is closed. The tee will remain open for use during this time frame, but you simply will be hitting off of dead turf. Take as many divots as you would like!!

During the week of September 14th, our staff will be removing the bluegrass surrounding the tee for our contractor. We also will be spreading 100 tons of sand onto the tee surface for our contractor. This will be done during normal open hours and will not be done on member hitting areas.

On September 21, our contractor arrives and will begin the renovation process. This involves roto tilling in the surface and 100 tons of sand, laser grading the tilled surface flat with a slight slope for drainage, and seeding the tee with the HGT bluegrass discussed above. Our staff have a couple minor irrigation adjustments to do as well as placing new sod down on the surround after he is done grading and seeding. All of this should be completed by September 28, weather permitting.

The Practice Facility will remain open during this renovation, with some modifications. The front tee will be open for use starting September 22nd, and the main top tee being renovated will be closed for the remainder of the season. You will access the practice facility from 9 as the above map shows, following signs we will put out. The short game facility will be open as well, accessed from the rough. The path going from the clubhouse to the Practice Facility will be closed for access at this time.

While this renovation may create some short term inconveniences, the long game and finished product will be a major upgrade and continue to set the standard as the best practice facilities in the area and one that you can take much pride in. If you have any questions regarding this project, please reach out to me at ryan@elconacc.com.

Have a safe and enjoyable Labor Day weekend, and I look forward to seeing you on the golf course!

Ryan

Course Notes, 8/1/2026

A good soggy morning from Elcona. Wanted to catch everyone up on a few activities we have and are planning to work on in August and beyond:

Men’s Invitational/Thank You!

Heading into what is officially called the “Dog Days” of summer, the golf course continues to look and play extremely well. We as a staff have had quite a busy season so far, and I could not be more proud of their efforts this year and the product they have produced for you to enjoy. Throughout the next few weeks many of them will be leaving us for the season and will be missed until they return in April 2027. A huge thank you to Adam, Ron, Mike, Larry, Paul, Dave, Mitch, Micaela, Jack, Kenny, Andrew, Mason, Nolan, Joe, Kendall, Crosby, Parker, Mason, and Ryen. We truly work hard each day to provide you the best playing conditions possible, but we have a lot of fun working together to achieve that goal.

Men’s Invitational went quite well from a maintenance perspective, despite Mother Nature’s constant heat and humidity and the dense smoke from Canada’s wildfires. Thank you for all of your comments and compliments on the golf course!

Divots on Greens

Unfortunately, I need to send out this reminder that, accidental or not, please help us take care of our greens by not taking out a divot or striking the green with a club. This divot was found on 17 green near the hole last week. These divots seldom heal like a fairway or tee divot due to the ultra low mowing heights on greens. No matter the situation, please think about the members playing behind you and share this with other members in your family that play your course. Thank you for your understanding!

Upcoming Greens/Course Maintenance

After this week’s Senior Club Championships, we will be performing much needed maintenance on the golf course. Greens will be verticut and topdressed to remove much of the excessive growth that the heat and humidity has created over the last few weeks. We also will vent the greens again using our Planet Air machines, which I talked about here when we performed these tasks in June. We also will be verticutting fairways to remove some of the growth that the year has brought and to stand the grass up a bit better. Finally, we will be utilizing our Shockwave unit to begin alleviating cart path and other wear areas in the rough to allow them to heal and become heathier in the fall. This unit is shown in the video below and has become one of my favorite tool to use on course.

Bunkers

We have made some maintenance changes to our bunkers beginning last week. We have reintroduced our rake machines into the greenside bunkers, cultivating the sand a bit deeper to soften them up. We also have changed the angle of attack of these tines to better rake the sand. This will be the maintenance direction we will be taking for the remainder of the golf season due to staffing levels. Please reach out to me if you have any questions regarding this or any other maintenance practices we do.

Irrigation Issues

On July 3rd, the golf course took a direct lightning strike on a tulip tree on #14 overnight. This strike found one of our irrigation wire paths, shorting out 55 individual decoders on course and incredibly traveling all the way to my office, blowing out all 3 computers and other components that were connected to our ethernet lines. It has taken some time, but all systems and sprinklers have been restored or repaired and the system is functioning as it should. The tree has began to shed leaves and show signs of death unfortunately. At this time it is not a safety issue to members and will be removed this winter unless it does become a hazard then it will be removed immediately.

Cattail Management

Speaking of #14, we will be spraying areas of the cattails in the ond on 14 during August to thin out the population to a more manageable pod. This application will take about 3 weeks to fully kill the undesirable cattails as the product we are using needs to fully travel to the rootzone to kill the plant. When the cattails are fully controlled, our staff will be cutting and removing the dead vegetation by hand. I will update on this project when completed.

Fall Projects

We will have two main fall project focuses as a staff this year. First, our main practice tee will be renovated fully beginning September 21st. While I will send you all a separate blog article on this project describing the process in greater detail, we are having a contractor come in to till in the existing vegetation, laser grade the tee to a flat grade with minimal slope for drainage, and seed the tee to a new variety of grass that will heal in divots and be more competitive keeping weeds out. Again, I will send out a separate article detailing this project in the next week or so, so stay tuned!

A second fall project that we will work on later in the fall is a couple of drainage installations, with the major one being the area between the pond on 3 and the blue/white tees on 4. As many of you know, after a heavy rain, this area floods easily and takes a fair amount of time to drain down due to it being one of the lowest points on the property. We will be trenching in new piping and a sump pump to take that water that collects near the tee and path areas and taking it back to the pond area, similar to the install we did at the fairway bunker on 17 that has been a successful project. Other minor areas that we will be trenching in drainage are on 7 near the first fairway bunker and on 12 near the tee and at the beginning of the fairway. More to come on this so stay tuned!

Wildlife

Finally, it continues to be a great sight to see the golf course be a great habitat for our wildlife out here. We have seen bluegill spawn in both 3 and 15 ponds, the return of Monarch butterflies as they continue their migration, our 3 fawns running around in the morning with Mom, and over 20 new turkeys walking around throughout the day. All of these sights are great indicators that Elcona is both a great golf course for you all to enjoy and that our maintenance practices are enhancing, not hurting, all who visit and inhabit the property.

As always, please reach out to me at ryan@elconacc.com if you have questions about what we are doing out here on the golf course. Have a great week and I look forward to seeing you on the course!

Ryan

Course Notes, 6/27/2026

The popular motto “defense wins championships” rings true, not just in sports, but in turf management as well. It’s not necessarily what we do when heat and humidity arrives, but more about what we don’t do. This year hasn’t yet brought any real stretch of high heat and humidity, but that will change this upcoming week.

So far this year, the cool weather, combined with solid planning and agronomic practices, has allowed for some spectacular playing conditions. As many of you have noticed, with the recent deluge of rain June has brought (9.8″ overall this month, which is the 5th wettest June on record at the South Bend airport), the growth rate of all grass, including greens, has been very high. Combined with higher humidities, this has lead to decreased green speed, with the added moisture in the air being taken up by the plant, which creates larger leaf blade surfaces and increased friction to ball roll. I spoke about this a couple weeks ago here.

Having a solid plan is important in both times of cool weather as well as hot/humid weather, with my goal no matter the week being the long term health of the golf course turf. For each stretch of heat that we experience, including the one we are forecasted to have this week, a common practice I enable is raising the height of cut on greens slightly (from .115″ to .12″) to increase the amount of leaf tissue on the plant giving it a better opportunity to generate the necessary energy to survive. We will not be double cutting this week, and if necessary, a mowing day may be skipped and replaced by rolling to reduce stress.

Irrigation is kept to a minimum as well, being monitored each morning and afternoon with a meter that measures the percent water content of the soil. The need to minimize the amount of irrigation may sound counter-intuitive because of the heat, but we need to reduce the possibility of various types of diseases from developing. Moist soils, thatch and leaf blades make an ideal environment for pathogens to grow and create harm to the turf. By reducing the irrigation, we reduce the moisture available to the pathogen. On days when we don’t mow fairways the dew is mechanically removed by two carts dragging a long hose across the playing surface to knock the dew off of the leaf blades allowing them to dry more quickly. In periods like this, every little trick helps.

The staff and I will also be out in the afternoons syringing the greens turf to help cool it down. When temperatures get above 85 degrees, Poa annua has difficulty photosynthesizing (making energy), and uses more energy then it can produce, causing stress damage. By applying a fine amount of water, the turf is temporarily cooled off to relieve some of that stress. This syringing creates the same effect as your skin feels if you ran quickly through a sprinkler.

Please keep in mind that these changes are only intended to be temporary and that the ultimate goal is to provide you with a golf course that you can be proud of during the Elcona Invitational as well as the rest of the year.  With that being said, until the heat and humidity begin to drop, we will play defense.  

As always, I encourage all of you to please contact me with any questions or concerns at ryan@elconacc.oom. Have a great weekend, a great week celebrating our nation’s 250th birthday, and stay hydrated!

Ryan

Course Notes, 6/14/2026

Summer has finally arrived with warm temperatures, some unfortunate severe weather, high morning humidity, and packed tee sheets. I appreciate my staff’s efforts cleaning up after 2 nights of damaging storms. Elcona has received about 3.1″ of rain so far in June, compared to half that all of May. We were very fortunate here that the damage was not worse, and our thoughts go out to any of you that are still dealing with power loss and major damage. Below are a few quick updates on what we are working on outside:

June Course Maintenance

Our closed day this Monday will be a very busy day for our staff. We will be performing some much needed maintenance on greens, including verticutting, topdressing, and venting them with our new Planet Air machines, discussed further below. 5 Star Paving and Sealing will also be here to repair cracks and seal all the cart paths on property. We have had to postpone them twice due to weather, so it will be nice to finally have that project completed!

The PlanetAir machine is similar to a walk mower that we would use on greens, only it has venting knifes that go 3″ deep into the green surface. This venting releases toxic gases that build up in the rootzone, and allows fresh oxygen to take its place. This venting also allows for better surface drainage after rain events. Venting is a job we perform 4-5 times each year, and these new machines make the task easier for anyone on our staff to perform, eliminates the tractor weight and wear on the putting surfaces when using previous methods, and impacts the root zone health much better.

Bunker Sand

Our college staff has fully returned now, and they have been hard at work at both getting a clean edge on the bunkers as well as checking depths and adding sand. Over 25 tons of sand have already been added at the practice facility and golf course. This process is done while play is on the course, and the current focus is on all greenside bunkers. To limit impacts on play, we are working 18 backwards and anticipate this task to be complete by the end of next week.

After adding the sand, we compact it down with machinery to firm it as best as we can. However, please remember that new sand additions will take some time to fully settle and firm up to normal playing conditions. We will continue to run compactors to shorten this period as best as we can. Thank you for your patience and understanding in this matter!

Divot Replacement

Our Sandbassador program seems to have increased awareness among the membership to replace large divots after play. However, a friendly reminder to PLEASE also replace divots if you make one on the par 3 tees. It has become very noticable lately of large pelts not being replaced, creating a quite littered look on them as well as increasing the time it takes for those areas to heal in. It only takes a couple seconds to help us take good care of your golf course. Please share with your family and playing partners. Thank you for helping us out!!

Green Speed Fluctuations

A few of you have asked me about some fluctuations in green speed recently. It has been and always will be a top priority for me to keep the greens as consistent as possible while maintaining a healthy playing surface. It is not uncommon for speeds to vary from day to day based on our rolling program and other external factors, after all we play this game on a living, breathing surface! During a typical week of the peak season we will mow greens daily, and roll them on Tuesday, Wednesday late morning (around 10:30), Friday, Saturday and Sunday. All of our maintenance practices are dependent on weather allowing us to do so without harming turf health or playability, as was the case this past Tuesday when 1.1″ of rain fell during the start of the maintenance day.

There are many other items that factor in to green speed, which include:

Moisture Levels: What can affect moisture levels? The three main culprits are rainfall, irrigation, and humidity. Two of these are not controllable unfortunately no matter how good an agronomic program is. It’s no secret that firmer/drier greens tend to be faster and soft/wet greens lead to slower speeds. The chart below is from data we collect daily using our USGA GS3 ball and our on site weather station. As you can see, the blue line is higher (green speed) when we have days where the average humidity (red line, 24 hour period) is under 60%, given consistent maintenance practices we performed over the past 11 days.

If you have heard the saying “The air that you wear” when it is forecasted to be hot and muggy, well that same lingo applies to the golf ball sticking to the leaf blades of the putting surface as it rolls. Higher humidity days can be challenging to dry the surfaces out and keep the turf from being “sticky” and having slower ball roll. One way we try to dry out the rootzone is by the venting I mentioned above, or aerifying them with .25″ solid tines or bayonet knife attachments. After the holes are poked, we topdress the green with sand and roll the green smooth. These holes allow fresh oxygen to get to the roots of the plant in addition to drying out the soil below.

Irrigation programming and decisions are truly a balancing act, as both underapplying irrigation and adding too much can be equally detrimental to the grass. One tool we use to help make those decisions is a moisture meter, which we take out in the morning to measure the percent moisture in the soil, and if it is under a certain number, one of our staff will add water via hose to get the entire surface uniform. In the afternoons, we will again measure soil moisture and add if necessary. On days that air temperatures are very high, you will see our staff our “syringing” greens, or using a light mist to cool the canopy of the turf off. Think of this as a temporary cooling effect, like how your skin feels after running through a sprinkler. Try as we might, there may be times during your round that we will have to interrupt your play to cool off greens, especially on busier days. We don’t like inconveniencing you, but somedays Mother Nature dictates what we have to do to protect the number one asset of the club. When you see our staff out hand watering or syringing, please know we are only going to be there for a minute or two, and refrain from hitting into us. Our families and staff appreciate your understanding!

Weather: What happens to your yard after it rains? It grows and typically grows much faster than it did before it rained. Rainfall provides the turf with clean, usable water that helps to flush elements from the soil that tie-up nutrients, therefore making the nutrients readily available to the turf. Nutrients lead to healthy turf which can lead to additional growth. Believe it or not, lightning also plays a large role. The unbridled energy of a lightning bolt shatters nitrogen molecules in the air. Some of the free nitrogen atoms combine with oxygen to form compounds called nitrates that mix with the rain. These nitrates are a powerful natural fertilizer that any plant can readily take up and thus increase its growth rate.

May was a great month with much below normal precipitation and cool temperatures which provided easy conditions to make greens very fast and firm. Over the last 2 weeks, we have received 3.12″ of rain on the golf course, which has led to increased plant growth, fatter leaf blades, and increased friction against ball roll, leading to slower putting surfaces.

Nutrition: The turf needs food to be healthy. Just as with humans, the healthier it is, the more active it tends to be. Healthy turf will grow more than unhealthy turf.

Growth: Turf is a living, breathing entity. It doesn’t just grow at night when most of us are sleeping, it grows during the day as well. This means that the greens will usually be slower in the afternoon than they are in the morning. Again with the rainfall this month, greens are growing at a much higher rate than they were in May.

Topdressing: Typically in season, we apply and broom in topdressing sand, and the amount of sand varies based on the rate at which the plant is growing. Topdressing sand helps smooth and firm up the surface of the greens. A smoother surface provides less friction on the golf ball and a faster speed.

Growth Regulators: Growth regulators are plant protectants we apply on a regular basis to slow down, not stop, the growth rate of the turf on greens, tees, and fairways. Over the years we have found a schedule that will provide very consistent results from day to day, minimizing surges in growth, but like everything else, the performance of the product is dependent upon several of the factors listed above.

I would encourage you to spend a few moments before each round on one of the practice greens. They are maintained the same as the greens on the golf course and will give you a good reference as to what the greens on the course will be like on that given day.

I always appreciate all the feedback I receive about the golf course. If you have any questions, please reach out to me at ryan@elconacc.com. Thank you always for your support and I hope to see you out on the golf course!

Ryan

Course Notes, 5/9/2026

Each year I think that this will be the year that the weather will be predictable and normal as the dates change month to month. That we will have a nice, gradual warming trend towards summer. In 22 years I have been, of course, proven wrong every time. The 70’s we experienced in late March transitioned back to a 6 week period of below normal temperatures more common for March than early May. If you think this streak of continued frosts and freezes is abnormal, I was reminded this morning that we had 1″ of snow (!) accumulate on Mother’s Day in 2021, and the last freeze in 2024 was on May 1. Looking at the long range forecast, there is light at the end of the tunnel for warmer weather at least.

One positive is that this colder weather has made it possible to cerate firm, fast conditions without much mechanical stress or wear and tear, as well as keeping us in a mow/maintain grass as needed mentality. We are all in a hurry to get the 2026 season into high gear, both from a playing and maintenance standpoint, but as a wise man once told me, patience is the key to everything. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it! While we wait, below are a few bullet points on what we are seeing on course, and what we are working on outside:

Turf Color

The tees and fairways have struggled with the colder than normal weather I spoke of above. The turf in these areas is composed of Penncross, an older variety of bentgrass that does not like cold temperature swings. With the frosts and freezes that April and early May have brought, the growth habit of these areas has slowed more considerably than I would like, producing tighter lies and an off color. This off color is from older leaves dying and the tips of live plants browning from the frosts and freezes, as the pictures above depict. The rest of the plant is healthy and growing, albeit slowly. We have increased fertility on these areas last week to promote a light increase in growth, and have scheduled a verticut later this month to remove more of these off color plants.

Plantings/Flowers

The cooler weather has also really hampered our timing for planting flowers and getting some more color around the course and clubhouse. If you are a gardener at home, you know this feeling all too well. Planting our flowers when frosts are prevalent are harmful to young plants and can possibly kill the investment in color and beauty before they get a chance to establish and flourish. It looks like the last frost for the year will be this coming Tuesday morning, and after that we will get more favorable weather to get those plants in the ground.

Our staff will be busy getting other landscape plantings in the ground this month once the frosts disappear. Our refreshing of the landscape in front of the Stag Bar and Ladies Locker Room entrance will be completed, as well as the areas on the north side of the pool. We also will be adding more colorful shrubs in the parking lot islands, and a few additional planters around the banquet areas for color and added beauty.

Practice Green/Tee Upgrades

The small practice green near the clubhouse was resodded last week. This area continues to settle for an unknown reason each year, causing a frustrating situation for both you and our staff. This year we have changed the grade on the clubhouse side to better divert water away from that area, and will take our time to mow and ready this part of the green for use. I thank you for your patience and understanding as we remedy this continued issue to a final solution.

The tee upgrades on 11 and 12 are nearly ready for play as well. The tee combination on 11 has knitted well and will be open this coming week, while the new silver tee on 12 has experienced a bit more settling with all the heavy rains April brought and is another week to 10 days behind schedule. Both of these tees will be rolled and topdressed throughout the season and will reach their final maturity at the end of the year.

Bunker Details and Rake Issues

Now that more of our college and high school staff have returned for the summer, we have begun detailing the bunkers on the course, checking depths moving sand that the spring rains have moved, adding fresh sand where needed, and detailing the edges removing the grasses that creep from the surrounding turf throughout the season. Our focus has first been around the practice and greenside bunkers, and I anticipate our staff completing this first detail at the end of next week. While many of you have commented to me that the sand is more playable that last year, we are experiencing some issues with the leaf rake attachment creating deeper channels than desired when the machine rakes in its circular pattern. We are currently working on this issue and hope to have some improvement here in the coming week.

Sandbassadors

Finally, our first Sandbassador night was held a couple weeks ago on a rare warm Thursday evening. We have 31 members that have volunteered to help educate other members about the importance of replacing all divots whenever possible, and help our staff fill in divots that have not been replaced. One question I have had about the program: Is this replacing the grounds staff from filling divots? Absolutely not!! Throughout the full golf season we send a staff member out to fill divots on tees and heavily used landing areas, such as 9 and 18 fairway. When fully staffed in the summer time, all fairways and tees are reviewed and divots are filled more frequently. The Sandbassador program is again about having members helping our staff maintain the playablilty and look of our golf course, while educating their playing partners about the importance of replacing divots whenever possible. A replaced divot will heal in a couple of days. A sand filled divot heals within 14-28 days. An unfilled divot will leave a season long scar. Thank you for doing your part in helping our staff maintain the golf course to the standard you expect.

If you have any questions, please as always feel free to reach out at ryan@elconacc.com. Thank you for reading and I hope to see you on the golf course!

Ryan

Course Notes, 4/19/2026

The old saying “April Showers Bring May Flowers” has been put to the test this week, in the fact that I am wondering what “April Floods” bring. While the tulips and ducks nesting on property have enjoy the warmth and ample rains, the turf and other areas of the course have not. At least another old saying, “If you don’t like the weather in Indiana, just wait 5 minutes” will be apropos, as we are looking at a much drier week ahead.

In the last week the golf course has received 4.7″ of rainfall, which for those of you who have been able to play have noticed, created many areas of standing water where they shouldn’t be. Some areas, such as around 4 and 12 tees, have been roped off to protect the turf from cart damage, with those restrictions staying in effect until Tuesday so that they can finish drying out.

Another positive out of all of this rain is that the aerification holes on greens have healed nicely due to the excessive turf growth the rains provided. This week we will be focusing on regaining control of the growth rate on greens, which is the main reason for the slower green speeds lately. There were many days last week where mowing and rolling was not possible without damaging greens, and we were also forced to wait in applying our periodic plant protectant and growth regulator until Friday.

Rainfall provides the turf with clean, usable water that helps to flush elements from the soil that tie-up nutrients, therefore making the nutrients readily available to the turf. Nutrients lead to healthy turf which can lead to higher growth rates. Believe it or not, lightning also plays a large role. The unbridled energy of a lightning bolt shatters nitrogen molecules in the air. Some of the free nitrogen atoms combine with oxygen to form compounds called nitrates that mix with the rain. These nitrates are a powerful natural fertilizer that any plant can readily take up and thus increase its growth rate. I wrote about many factors that impact green speed in this blog post from last year.

This month’s worth of rain received last week has led to increased plant growth rates, fatter leaf blades, and increased friction against ball roll, leading to slower putting surfaces. This week we will be adding topdressing to further dilute excess growth at the crown level of the turf, and applying additional growth regulator to rein in the turf to more normal conditions. My goal is to have things back to normal by the end of this coming week in time for this weekend’s Men’s Opening Day. Thank you for your patience and understanding in this matter and please reach out if you have questions.

The staff and I were able to accomplish many other tasks while waiting on the rains to stop. The new tee surrounds on 11 and 12 were sodded as well as where we removed bentgrass in front of 17 fairway for those tee projects. A few bunker edges were also resodded at the short game area, 5 green, and 8 green. This sod should root down in the next 7-10 days, and I anticipate these tees being ready for play by the first week of May.

We also began refreshing the landscaping in front of the Ladies Locker Room and entrance to the Stag Bar. These boxwoods had become too big and were blocking the beautiful views of the golf course from inside. When frost concerns are in the rear view mirror, we will be planting a more colorful selection of plants that do not block views going forward. We also will be adding irrigation and planting a new landscape north of the pool to better block the woods view from the pool and bring that area up to standard from an aesthetic perspective. These projects will be completed by Memorial Day weekend.

As always, please reach out to me if you have questions about the golf course. Have a great week and I look forward to seeing you on the golf course!

Ryan

Course Notes, 4/8/2026

A couple notes that I wanted to highlight separate from my article last weekend…..

We are looking for 50 members that are interested in being part of a new pilot program we are calling the “Elcona Sandbassador” program. These members should be interested in helping Ryan and his staff maintain our beautiful course and pilot the merits of a full time sand bottle program. You will be provided a bottle of sand each time you play, and there will be a refill pile at the maintenance shop left of 10 fairway.

The thought behind this program is to see how effective a sand bottle program would be at Elcona and if it can be integrated for the entire membership successfully while maintaining the excellent standard you expect with regard to course aesthtics (still replacing full sized divots on fairways and par 3 tees, and only reaching for sand when divots explode, for example). A special thank you to Tim Markel for championing the idea and the Golf/Greens Committee for their support of it.

To be part of this program, you do need to be part of a “certification night” so that we can all be aligned on how to properly maintain the golf course. This night is on Thursday, April 23 at 6:00. We will meet at the Pro Shop.

If you are interested, please email me at ryan@elconacc.com. Thank you for your continued interest and desire to keep Elcona one of the best conditioned courses in the State of Indiana.

Also, Zach and I are excited to once again be hosting the Elcona Pro/Superintendent Invitational, this year on April 27th. In the 3 years we have hosted this, over $16,000 has been raised for charitable foundations within the golf industry with much support from our local suppliers and industry professionals.

This year’s event again benefits the Wee One Foundation, an organization near and dear to me. The Wee One Foundation was founded to assist golf course management professionals (or their dependents) who incur overwhelming expenses due to medical hardship without comprehensive insurance or adequate financial resources. Since 2004, the Wee One has gifted over $2 million to turf professionals and families in need.

For those members interested, there is a amateur division that many members played in last year, and it got quite competitive! Your entry fee is completely tax deductible and goes to a great organization. The format of the event is two person teams, one best ball. To register, go to https://weeone.org/event-6571788. Thank you for allowing Zach and I to support our industry peers and their families.

If you have any questions, please as always reach out to me at ryan@elconacc.com. Have a great rest of your week and think warm thoughts!.

Ryan

Course Notes, 4/4/2026

Good morning from a very soggy Elcona. As of this morning, we have received about 4.25″ of rain this week, more than half of that in the last 48 hours. Our rain suits got a lot of use this week to say the least! I am very proud of the staff for what they have accomplished so far this season, and as more return from college and high school, we will be able to achieve even more.

While many of you will be enjoying next week on a beach somewhere, we will be performing aerification on all tees and greens. We will be doing aerification on greens Monday (Front 9) and Tuesday (Back 9), weather permitting. Tees will be core aerified the following Monday, April 13. The solid tines I am using this year on greens are 5/8″ in diameter, which are slightly larger than in previous springs, by a 1/8″. The reasoning is to better incorporate a higher amount of sand into the soil profile and reduce organic matter. This will better firm up the surfaces over time and maintain a healthy soil profile for proper root growth and surface drainage. While we are closed entirely Monday, the Front 9 will be open and available for play on Tuesday. Our goal is to have all 18 holes completed and open on Wednesday. If the weather does not cooperate, we will close and complete this process on the next best day to do so. The video above is from 2023 fall’s aerification and is the same process we are using next week for the most part.

Also, a few of you have asked why our bunker rake placement changed this year. In discussion with Zach and the Golf/Greens Committee, this is a change to better playability and reduce the amount of surface area that a rake can impact a ball and keep it tight to the edge, which as many of you can attest, can lead to some fairly awkward lies. It does not reduce the amount of maintenance for our staff, as it still requires us to move the rakes to mow, rake, and string trim around the bunker. Please reach out to me if you have questions on this change, and I thank you for your cooperation!

Below are a few quick hits on other things we have been working on:

Looking at the longer term forecast, there are many more good days than bad for golf. Please continue to call the golf shop for the latest availability. Golf course mowing/maintenance is still temperature dependent, and on an “as needed” basis. As temperatures moderate, rounds played increase, and more of our seasonal staff return, mowing and raking frequencies will increase. It has been nice to see many of you enjoy your course on warm days!

Our irrigation system is charged and ready for the golf season, and the fountains are in and working. We have some clearing to do around the intake for the pump to Zimm’s Creek, so that may not be running for a couple of days. Always a great feeling to have the pipes full and no leaks after a cold, tough winter!

Divot boxes are out on the par 3 tees now as well. As a friendly reminder, please replace your divots on all fairways, and on the par 3 tees, if able to! If your divot explodes on the tees, please scoop a bit of sand out and level it flat to the tee surface. Thank you for your cooperation here and stay tuned for another post regarding divots.

The tee projects on 11 and 12 continue to press on. In the last week the final grades have been massaged and we have taken unused bentgrass from the beginning of 17 fairway and transplanted it to the new surfaces at these locations. The surrounds and areas on 17 will be sodded late this week or early next week depending on our sod farm’s delivery schedule and our schedule. As far as when these tees will be available for play, it is all weather dependent on how fast the sod roots down, I am hopeful early May in this regard. In the end, the new silver tee on 12 and expansion of teeing options on 11 blue will be great additions to our already wonderful golf course.

The staff and I are always thankful for the continued investment from the membership in our abilities to maintain and keep Elcona as the best conditioned golf course in the area. New this year to our fleet are a new sprayer with individual nozzle control, a new brush to better work sand into aerification holes, new machines to better vent the putting greens throughout the summer, and a new turbine blower to help us with daily cleanup and prep. This month we will also get our cart paths sealed and cracks repaired. On behalf of our staff, thank you!

2 new trees were transplanted on 15 last week by Care Tree Farms, using their 90″ spade truck. These 2 sugar maples replace the Kentucky Coffeetree that split and became a safety hazard. Over time, these trees will mature and blend into the existing tree line recreating the impact the old tree had on the playability of the hole. These trees are the last in our onsite nursery that are able to be moved. We have began the process of replanting our nursery for the next generation of tree needs on course with varieties of oak, maple, dogwood, and serviceberry. Stump holes have been filled as well, and will be seeded when more consistent growing weather arrives.

As always, thank you for your support and for reading my blogs. I hope they are informative and provide real value to your membership here at Elcona. If you have any questions, please reach out at ryan@elconacc.com. Have a great Easter weekend and Spring Break, and I hope to see you out on the golf course!

Ryan

Course Notes, 03/19/2026

As Zach advertised this week online, we are opening the golf course this coming Sunday, March 22, beginning at 12. This opening is a bit later than our annual average opening date of March 17. Looking at the longer term forecast, there are many more good days than bad for golf. Please continue to call the golf shop for the latest availability. Golf course mowing/maintenance is still temperature dependent, and on an “as needed” basis. As temperatures moderate, rounds played increase, and more of our seasonal staff return, mowing and raking frequencies will increase.

The weather the last few days have reeked havoc on our final clean up efforts. Friday’s 50-60 MPH winds brought down a couple sections of trees, most notably behind 13 green. All the sticks and leaves we removed the week before were replaced with even more that we are working to get cleaned up. As you play Sunday and into next week, this clean up will be ongoing and there will be sticks and leaves around. Please excuse our mess as we get things back together with our limited staff.

One note of caution:  As we have focused solely on debris clean up, we have still many empty stump holes and areas where we have ground roots down that need to be filled with soil.  These areas will be flagged or roped so that they are easily identifiable for you, and they should be treated as ground under repair.  We will begin filling them next week, starting with the areas closest to the normal route of play.

Starting April 1, the Practice Facility will be open for you to hone your game on. Elcona is blessed to have a wonderful Practice Facility, including a second to none Short Game area. It has many areas that provide creative lies for you to hone your game on. This is a club amenity that few, if any, have in our area and is a tremendous asset to your membership here at Elcona, and saves the golf course from excessive wear from practicing on it. There are 3 bunkers for dialing in your sand game too. The Practice Tee will be set up on the very front tee for the first couple of weeks to allow the main tee a little extra time to warm up and begin growing.

I am also excited to welcome back our seasonal employees beginning the first week of April as well! Their return is based on historical dates that have been determined by weather as well as budgetary guidelines set for the year. As it has been the case over the years, we anticipate being fully staffed by Memorial Day. Some of our 2025 staff will be returning, but we will have a few new faces being added as well.

After discussing the performance of the bunkers with the Golf/Greens Committee and many of you, we are adding a couple new steps to our bunker maintenance this year. First, we are adding leaf rakes to our machines to give an additional layer of finish to the sand and to further reduce tire tracks in the sand. Our rakes will continue to disturb the sand 1.5″ deep and rake smooth with the machine attachments. The edges will be raked with a brush attachment to reduce the amount of sand raked to the edge. As more staff return, we will begin cleaning up the edges and checking sand depths more frequently.

The Committee and I are also asking you all place the bunker rakes as pictured above, with the rake placed perpendicular of the direction of play, and only the handle sticking out on the grass edge. This rake presentation is becoming very popular with courses as it dramatically reduces the surface area of the rake impacting a ball that could hit it. If a ball did strike the rake, it will come to rest farther away from the edge of the bunker. There are stickers on each rake head to remind everyone and there will be reminders on the cart signs as well. Thank you for cooperation on this change and please reach out to me if you have any questions.

Finally, once storm clean up is finished and in between mowings and general maintenance, we have several projects to finish up. Today we installed the clock tower at the Practice Facility, after an in house paint job and retro fitting new clocks to the old tower. The forward tee on 12 and the combination of blue and white tees on 11 will be completed and sodded within the next couple of weeks. We also will be installing a fountain on 15 pond to compliment the creek and completing some much needed upgrades to the maintenance facility that needed good weather to complete. Of course the landscape beds will be mulched and new landscaping will be constructed around the pool, front entrance, and other areas of the golf course too.

As always, please reach out to me at ryan@elconacc.com if you have questions. I am always willing to discuss the golf course and our activities with you. The arrival of spring, opening of the golf course, and all of these projects truly energize me and are exciting additions to a wonderful piece of property. We look forward to seeing you on the golf course starting Sunday!

Ryan

Course Notes, 3/6/2026

The term “March Madness” is one that brings lots of joy and at a minimum good times watching a game that all of us in the Boilermaker Hoosier state enjoy. As an IHSAA official, it is thrilling to be part of the action on the court watching first hand the fruits of each team’s hard work they put in to become the best they can be, especially at tournament time. March Madness also can accurately describe our activities on the golf course as well, with both the golf course waking up from the colder winter season and project season beginning to wrap up.

Many of you have been asking when the golf course will be ready for play. Well, the winter of 2025-26 was one we haven’t seen in years – we actually had what us Northern Hoosiers call a real winter! We kicked things off with a 12-inch snowstorm in early November, followed by over 70 more inches of snowfall throughout the season. One Christmas thaw brought freezing temperatures to bare ground in December, then piled on even more snow. Before the warmer weather finally arrived last week, the frost layer in the soil was still a solid 8-12 inches deep on average, and our snowpack hit 30 inches. Melting all that out takes serious time, especially in those stubborn shaded areas. While the snow itself is gone, some spots still have deep ground frost that needs to thaw completely.

On the bright side, all our short-mown turf weathered the winter beautifully! A few areas in the rough might need a bit of extra TLC, though, due to the massive amount of leaves that got buried by that early snow, smothering the turf all winter long.

As the soils firm up, the staff and I have already jumped into course clean-up. We’re collecting all the tree debris, and on drier days, we’ll be blowing, mulching, or collecting leaf litter. Playing surfaces will be mowed or rolled as needed, keeping in mind the slower growing conditions and our current staffing. The USGA has a great article further explaining the factors involved in opening for early play, which you can read here. We’re close to opening for play, so please keep an eye out for an announcement from Zach and I about the exact day the course will be available!

While we wait for conditions to improve outside, the staff and I are focusing our attention on other key projects.

Course clean-up isn’t just about sticks- leaves and the native areas take some time too. A new approach we’re trying this year involves prescribed burns in certain native areas, like the woods near holes 4 and 13. These controlled burns are fantastic for removing leaf litter, promoting bare soil for native grasses, tackling non-native weeds like the poison ivy off 7 tee, and returning valuable nutrients to the soil for healthier grass. They can even help reduce insect populations, like ticks! We’ll be doing more of these on closed days when the weather permits, allowing us to evaluate if they’re a beneficial tool for our maintenance toolbox.

Our annual tree maintenance is just about wrapped up for the year. Tree maintenance and removals are constant topics of discussion – every month as a staff, in Committee, and during my weekly course travels with Tom. The aggressive tree work we started back in 2006, though initially unpopular with some, has truly paid off with improved turf density and playability. The best part of this program now is that we focus much less on removals and more on winter trimming, really highlighting the natural beauty of each tree lining Elcona’s fairways. To accomplish this each year, we rent a 45-foot boom lift that gets me up to the heights needed to do the job.

The few removals this winter included some unsafe trees (splitting down the middle) on the right side of 14 and 15, three trees in the parking lot that were getting too big and impacting members and the view, and three more trees on the right side of 17, which completes our goal of increasing sunlight for a much denser stand of grass in that area. Trimming efforts focused on holes 2, 4, 7, 12, and 17, as well as the short game area. We still need to finish grinding out and filling in the stump holes, but that should be done next week.

Other spring projects on our radar include finishing our tee renovations on 11 and 12, installing a new fountain on hole 15, and the renovation we worked on this winter on the old clock tower at the practice tee. We’ll share more on these projects (plus our normal springtime maintenance like aerification, fertilization, mowing, etc.) as we get further into spring, so stay tuned!

Spring is here, and with it, golf is just around the corner. We’ll keep you updated on the latest course conditions and open as soon as conditions allow. If you have any questions, please email me at ryan@elconacc.com.

Have a great week!

Ryan