Typical April Hoosier weather has arrived here at Elcona, as the blooming tulips and daffodils have shown. Temperatures now range from the 30’s to near 70. Frost delays are still a possibility (like this weekend!), so please check in with the golf shop if you have an early morning tee time, we will also do our best to send push notifications of any changes or delays as soon as we know of them. The April weather has allowed the golf course to blossom, green up and begin its growing season. While we are a couple weeks away from utilizing our typical mowing frequencies on everything, the staff has done a tremendous job on the golf course this year with what Mother Nature has thrown our way. Below is an update on what we have been up to and what we have been seeing:
On windy days where the blossoms and seeds blow off of the trees, we will be placing a couple hand blowers out in areas where debris becomes a problem on putting greens. I have seen many of you bring your own out in the fall, so we are trying this to help everyone during times of the day where our staff cannot get to the green to blow that debris as quickly as we would like. Hopefully this is a value added service that will be a positive for everyone that comes out, please let me know your thoughts on how we can improve upon this!
While the course has taken to Spring rather nicely, we do have a few opportunities. 9 green is one of them. The renovated portion of the green on the right side is continually struggling with pushing roots deeper than 1.5″. The above pictures show what we are seeing right now, with the left side of the green having roots 4″ deep, while the right side is barely at 1.5″. This is typical of any renovation areas re-using the existing sod, where a compaction layer forms after the final shaping is completed on the soil before sod is laid back down. If you recall, 18 green and the large practice green struggled with these same issues the first few years after their renovation.
Our plan of attack to help establish better rooting on this green is to solid tine the right side every 3 weeks with 1/4″ tines to help break through this construction layer and encourage rooting through the layer. These small tines are the same as what we use through the summer to vent greens monthly. Topdressing sand is applied before we solid tine to allow the aerifier to punch sand to the construction layer to help dilute it, as well as afterwards to smooth the surface for play. Areas that were struggling to grow were overseeded with bentgrass. To encourage better turf conditions, we will be mowing this green a bit higher than the others on the course (.14″ vs. .115″), though rolling will be on the same schedule as the rest of the greens. To limit foot traffic on the struggling areas, the pin will be on the left for the time being as well. I am anticipating being on this schedule for the next 3 weeks or so, and will communicate any changes. While this may bring a short term difference in putting speeds compared to the others, this is the best plan of action for the short and long term health of 9 green. If you have any questions, please reach out to me.
The irrigation upgrade is in its final stages. Wissco has completed all 1329 sprinklers and is in the punch list phase of the project where they fix any issues that have shone themselves after install. Automatic Supply has finished install of new pump controls on all 3 irrigation wells and will be doing a final tune up on Monday to ensure their are running efficiently with each other. Our staff is working on better grounding capabilities and will be doing so for the next couple of months. All in all, this has been a great project that will provide long term success of its operation and allow our team to work on other details of the system instead of simply repairing it so that it runs.
The forward tees on 4 and 14 have been constructed and sodded. The first mowing on them will occur in the next week, and further smoothing of the playing surfaces continuing throughout the month. I am still anticipating 4 tee being available in mid-May, with 14 tee being available for play towards Memorial Day or early June. Stay tuned!
Finally, whether I observe it directly or you have expressed your frustration to me, there continually is simple golf course etiquette being ignored by members and guests on the course. Page 3 of the new membership handbook that everyone receives annually is a review of the Elcona Member Code of Conduct. #6 on that list reminds all of us “to take care of and be proud of your facility”. Whether it is keeping golf carts 30 feet away from greens and keeping them on the paths where available, repairing ball marks (which are becoming easier to see with the greener turf conditions), raking and smoothing bunkers after hitting shots out of them, or replacing divots after a shot, it is everyone’s responsibility to take care of all of these while enjoying the golf course. It goes a long way in maintaining the high level of aesthetics and playability of the course that you all demand. Thank you!
As always, if you have any questions on the golf course, or how to properly repair divots, ballmarks, or raking bunkers, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at ryan@elconacc.com. Have a great weekend and I hope to see you out on the golf course!
Ryan
Rub of the Green 