Course Notes, 2-17-17

A typical April forecast, not February!

I think I am not overstepping my bounds by saying that all the weather forecasters had a BIG “swing and a miss” with their winter forecasts.  With 50’s and 60’s in the forecast the next 7 days, as you may have guessed, the golf course will be open with carts available starting Saturday at 12.  Hours will be 12-5, and its availability will be evaluated on a day by day basis.  The course will remain closed Monday for course maintenance.  With night time lows a few days reaching freezing, opening at 12 will allow any frozen surfaces to thaw and safely allow traffic.

Our stump grinder in action

While it is nice to have the golf course open for play so early, there is still much clean up to do from our annual tree work and general debris that has accumulated over the last 3 months.  We will be out and about grinding stumps from this winter’s tree work next week.  Please exercise caution when equipment is in the area, as these noisy machines and the concentration needed to use them may not allow the operator to see you right away and allow him to move out of the way.  These stump holes will be 4-6″ deep when cleaned up, and they will be flagged for everyone’s safety.

Halfway house site

Please also exercise caution when near the site of the old halfway house.  Directly to the east of the old structure is where the new septic field has been installed.  This ground is still soft and settling, and cannot withstand any traffic at all.  We will have an update on that project in a future blog post.

Keep in mind that the average temperature for this time of year is 35 degrees and that the staff and I will manage the turf as it is appropriate for this time of year.  What does that mean?  It means that mowing will be done as the weather and growth dictates and other practices, such as raking bunkers, will be done on an as needed basis.  Please understand that seasonal employees are brought back based on historical dates that have been determined by both average weather and budgetary guidelines set for the year.  We are not usually fully staffed until Memorial Day.

If the weather continues to remain warm for an extended period, I may need to re-evaluate returning dates for some employees just so we can keep up with the growth of the turf.  February is not the time to push green speeds or mow the turf at normal summer levels however.  While the greens have some nice green color right now, the turf growing quite slowly, there is a greater time for recovery from wear.  Also, the spring time is the time to develop and grow a deep, healthy root system.  As I have mentioned many times, the deeper the root system, the better probability the turf can withstand summer playing expectations during hot summer conditions.  Mowing height is directly correlated to root depth.

While it is looking like some turf will need a mowing in the next week, it will be at much higher heights than typical summer heights of cut strictly because of the above paragraph.  Rolling will be utilized when needed to smooth the greens, but will not be an every day occurrence.  Here is a link to an excellent USGA article further explaining decisions that I have to make with early warm weather, and how it possibly impacts our operation and budget throughout the course of the year.

A trimmed up look right of 3 green

Oak trees pruned up along 15

As you are out on the course the next week, you will also notice we have been out pruning up several oak trees.  As I referenced in blogs articles here, here, and here,  winter is now the suggested time to prune these trees due to the emerging threat of oak wilt.  We have about 7 additional trees to work on when the ground firms back up before the golf season hits its full swing.

If you have any questions, please contact me at ryan@elconacc.com or call me at the maintenance facility.  Enjoy these April-like conditions and I look forward to seeing you on the golf course!

Ryan

Course Update, 2/6/16

5 Green on February 1.

What a difference a year makes.  At this time last year, we were in the midst of a 17″ lake effect snow storm.  Ice cover was not a major concern, but was in place in lower areas of the golf course.  This year we have had quite the roller coaster.  Each time we receive a significant amount of snow, it is followed by above normal temperatures that easily melt it away.  Tee, fairway, and rough turf achieved a level of dormancy finally over the last couple of weeks, and the greens are slowly catching up.

I have noticed some greens have a two toned appearance to them currently, which is not a concern to me.  This is where ice and snow cover took a bit longer to melt, and protected the turf underneath from colder air temperatures.  The lighter turf color is where turf was exposed to the elements for a longer period of time.  Again, not a concern, but one of the neat attributes that Mother Nature can show throughout the seasons.

Our annual tree work has shifted to stump grinding and clean up.  One tree that was a subject of conversation and that I have wrote about here was the large Black Oak near #1 green.  This tree rapidly defoliated in July and, according to the two experts I had look at it, succumbed to Oak Wilt.  It was removed on January 26th by our tree service.  If you would like to read more about Oak Wilt, here is an article from Michigan State.

Black oak stump

Insect boring/fungal growth on a limb

Insect boring 1″ from the bottom

Close up of cracking in stump

In observing the tree as we were cleaning up the debris, we noticed a couple of other problems the tree had. There was a direct insect trail bored throughout the the entire tree, and some cracking within the main trunk of the tree.  All of these symptoms, as well as the Oak Wilt symptoms observed when the leaves were dropping in July, probably together played a roll to its demise.  We are unsure if the insect boring led to the fungal infection, or vice versa.  According to Michigan State extension, it is a very troublesome disease to diagnose.

The takeaway I have had from this tree is learning about Oak Wilt, how to prevent the spread of it, and how to best protect Elcona’s other Oak inventory from this.  While there is no reason to be overly concerned about it at this time, Oak Wilt is something that we will be continually monitoring within our tree maintenance program.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.  Have a great weekend!

Ryan

Course Notes,10/1/15

Oak tree left of 1 green succumbed to oak wilt

I am sure most of you have noticed the oak tree near 1 green that has rapidly defoliated over the last two months.  I have had a couple of outside experts look at this tree in the last couple of weeks and their consensus is that the tree succumbed to Oak Wilt.   Oak wilt is a fungal disease that affects the vascular system of the tree, and is spread via insects and by root grafts (or conjoined roots of two oak trees) in the soil.  We will be removing this tree when the ground freezes as part of our annual tree work and monitor the surrounding oaks for potential infection.

The staff and I have begun the process of preparing the turf for winter.  We have aerified tees and are in the process of aerifying cart path entrance and exit points, which help alleviate the strain that turf takes from in-season play.

As a reminder, greens aerification will take place on October 8th and 9th, weather permitting.  The first day we will be working on the front 9 greens and the large practice green, with the other 10 greens aerified the following day.  If there are any changes due to weather, I will communicate those to you via the blog.  Fairways will be aerified the week of October 12th, again weather permitting.  The staff and I appreciate your patience and understanding during this necessary agronomic procedure.  If you would like more information on the benefits of aerification, please click here for a great video from the USGA that identify the methods and reasoning behind aerification.

Fall is the best time to apply fertilizer to any turf, whether it be your lawn, or the turf out on the golf course.  Applications have already taken place to tees and green surrounds.  Greens and fairways will be receiving additional feeding through our sprayers as the month progresses to help build carbohydrate storage in the plant for winter.

If you have any questions, please email me at ryan@elconacc.com.

Ryan