Winter Work

As all the leaves are down and decomposing, we can focus on our winter work before the new year. We are doing a few things around the course these coming weeks.

1. Flower bed renovation behind the clubhouse restaurant.
1. Tearing out 3 Taxis bushes, narrowing the bed, and planting ornamental grasses
2. Tearing down the shelter at #11 tee
1. It is rotting and is too low to get carts under for shelter to begin with.
3. Starting the renovation on the right side bunker of #10
1. That bunker has been shut down the last half of the year due to degradation of sand and clay.
4. Cutting some 35 ash trees that are going to be dangerous to play near in the 2014 season.
1. Emerald Ash Borer is the culprit. 
1. For more information see: http://www.emeraldashborer.info/#sthash.Cd2G2Yk1.dpbs

There are other jobs that need done but these are the major projects.

The turf has quit growing and is dormant. We will be applying our dormant fertilizer during our warm spell this week. The dormant fertilizer feeds the roots so the turf will overwinter better and come back with a healthy stand of turf immediately when the temps turn in the spring.

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving Holiday and stays warm this winter. The signs nature has given us leans towards a rough winter.

Leaves, Leaves, and More Leaves

We are chopping leaves everyday. The turf has slowed down in terms of growth and we are mowing as needed. It seems as though the trees don't quite want to give the leaves up this season as they are hanging on longer than usual. The leaves are chopping nicely and you should have no problem finding the ball in the playing areas. 

We will be starting renovation on the ride side bunker of #10 soon and all the little things to get the course winterized. 

Season Wrap Up

This year has been a pretty good year in terms of weather and maintenance on the course. We had cooler temperatures than last year and precipitation on a regular basis.

The turf maintained well with exceptions to the back of #16 green. Our disease pressure was steady but with a preventative program, little disease was present.

We did have some issues around the course throughout the year.
One of the issues was our irrigation system. The pump needed repaired and our control boxes located throughout the course were temperamental at times. The box between #'s 15 and 16 fairway was the worst. It did not want to irrigate when it was scheduled to and unfortunately it took most of the season for a repair man to come out and diagnose it.
Another issue was equipment breakdowns. We had a lot of break downs this season and with a four man crew it was difficult at times to keep up. The crew stepped up and did their best to keep things running.
The last and biggest issue is bunkers. Our bunkers are degrading more and more each year and we are renovating as many as we can in a given year.

We have a lot of work to do around the course such as flower bed renovations, deconstruction on a shelter, equipment maintenance, bunker renovation, pruning, and the cutting of approximately 35 Ash trees around the course.

As always if you have any question, you can find us on the course or email me at ryan.leach@troyohio.gov

Its been a busy summer

We have had rain for the past 18 days straight. It looks like the hot weather is just around the corner.
We also had repair work done on the irrigation system as the pump and pump motor decided to fall to the bottom of the well. They are wrapping up the well today with a cleaning to make sure the water is clean and free of obstructions.
The course is looking good. The disease pressure is very high but the applications of low rate fungicides at as a preventative approach has worked wonders.
There was very little damage from the storms last night and the clean up will be swift.
As always, if there are any questions, you can email me or come find me on the course.

The course is in great shape

First, I must apologize for not posting recently. As most of the patrons know, we are mowing, mowing, and mowing some more. On top of that, we had six pieces of equipment go down in a two day period. It proceeded to take a few weeks to get the parts in to fix it so at that time the course was looking pretty bad. However, we have got the course in great playing shape and would encourage anyone that wants to play a fairly priced and well maintained course should not hesitate to come out for a round!

I have been busy spraying all over the course for multiple things. As the growing degree days progress, new rosettes of weeds start coming up. I am out there at least once a week trying to knock these down with our broad leaf herbicide mix of 2,4-D; mecoprop-p; dicamba; triclopyr; and clopyralid. This mix will knock down mostly every broad leaf weed out there. I also put down our annual bluegrass seed head suppression mix. I must say, using the growing degree day model from Michigan State University worked very well (link here). I got it down and saw no seed heads for the first two weeks. After that control period, I saw only 5-10% seed head development. That did not meet my threshold for a second application so I let them run their course. Also I have been diligent on a preventative practice of fungicide application. By using a lower rate more frequently, the control is stretched out over the entire season rather than using a moderate to heavy rate every 14 to 20 days. Call me crazy but I have noticed the control rate of the fungicides don't really meet the 14 to 20 interval period for the curative rates of application. It seems to me that they are very effective for 10-12 days then it looks as though the pathogen starts to rear its ugly head by the 14 day mark. I firmly believe that if I use lower rates within the 10 day or interval the label suggests, I will not allow the pathogens to even start to develop.

We are also in the process of mowing the natural areas for the first time this year. When the seed heads on the turf starts to develop (usually around the 1' mark) we come in and cut them down to around six inches. This keeps the natural areas looking good and weed free. This also allows to keep the natural areas, "natural". I will not have to spray them and risk endangering the fauna in those areas. .

We are also rolling on a scheduled basis and maintaining an acceptable speed designated by the committee. 

The bunkers are being spun everyday and the white bunkers are being hand raked every two to three days. The old bunkers really need spun out everyday because the sand is older and degrading. The new sand stays fluffed up at the intervals we do them in, making them a tough hazard to play from. 

There has been some minor irrigation work and that is typical and will be a common occurrence as heads and piping are temperamental at times.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to come visit me in the maintenance shop, on the course, or call the office phone and I will be glad to help or explain anything you may ask.  

Spraying, Vandalism, and Aerification

It has been awhile since the last post and a lot has happened on the course. The season is in full swing and we are mowing everyday.

 On April 7 we aerified and deep tined the greens. The deep tines went to almost 10 inches and we pulled cores to about four inches. The healing process is always quick this time of year however, we have a broom that does not do as well as the broom previously used in the past. The better broom was borrowed and did an excellent job on filling the holes and getting the excess sand off the greens. The old broom still fills the holes in but it is inefficient and causes significant bruising. Additionally, the green's mower has to pick up the sand as it mows. That process is slow and hard on the equipment. We are actually mowing lower than our normal height. The aerifying height is 3/32" and the normal height is 1/8". The reason it is "fuzzy or scruffy" is a direct result of the poor broom that we have. The green's mower has to pick up the sand before it can effectively mow the turf. We are mowing the greens every chance we can but the greens must be dry. When the sand is mostly picked up, the mower will naturally start mowing the turf and then we will switch back to the normal height and the greens will be as good as new. Please be patient; it will pay off. Forcing the issue will make it worse.

We are also doing a lot of spraying this time of year. I am controlling the broad-leaf's now,applying pre-emergence, spraying preventative fungicides, sprayed for seed head control, and the weekly fertilizer application.

We had a unusual and serious vandalism incident as well. The spruces on the corner of #13 were cut to head level. There were four trees that the vandalism occurred on. Personally, I think it ruined the hole. Those trees are meant to block the view of the green and someone decided to take it upon themselves to cut the limbs off. Keep in mind, any alterations done by any individual aside from the employees will be considered vandalism and the authorities will be called. If there is an issue then take it to me or Ken. We can decide or take it to the green's committee to decide. Never take any action upon yourselves or there will be consequences. I was very upset when I came across this because we are always available for comment or discussion.

With all that being said, we hope the course is meeting all the patron's standards and will continue to do our best to provide an excellent golf course.

Tree removal

Trees removed this year.

The red dots indicate the trees taken out this year.
The light green dots are planned trees to take out this year.
They are mainly ash trees that have been infested by Emerald Ash Borer.
There is a certainty that this map will be more colorful as the year goes on. The trees are always a surprise. We are also planning to plant a few this year. If you would like to see a blown up picture of this, click the picture.

Spring is knocking on the door.

It has been some months since I last posted on the course's blog but I have some updates.

This winter we repaired our equipment and did the normal maintenance. We sharpened the reels and got them adjusted and prepped for this season. We will be getting two new, much needed, pieces of equipment this year. A Ventrac and a Gator. These pieces are a must with the older equipment that we have and will provide a cushion if something very serious were to happen to that older equipment.

We also saved up to $1000 by renovating the tee markers. The sun fades and the irrigation water stains the markers and I decided to clean them and then shoot them with enamel and a clear coat. We will see how they hold up to the elements this year.

We have taken down a number of trees this year as well. The EAB (Emerald Ash Borer) has got a hold of dozens of Ash trees and unfortunately they have to come down. They will eventually die and they are a severe safety risk to the patrons if they stay up. The biggest ones that were taken down were the two on the right of #3 they were 50+ years old and it is a shame that they had to come down. They made that hole difficult to reach if you hit into the right side of the rough. We also cut down a Maple tree on the right side of #8 tee that was dying of Verticillium Wilt. 

Also, we will be finishing up a few other projects on the course before it opens on March 1. We put some posts and rope fence up behind #10 green. I have tried to guide patrons away from the natural area and towards the path to #11 tee. Unfortunately, I have noticed many patrons driving and pushing their bags through the natural area. Those areas are not designed for traffic and meant to be as native as possible. It was necessary to put a small physical barrier to stop the traffic. This fence is not an out of bounds and does not change the rules for that hole. It is just a fence to keep patrons out. For those of you who have followed it, thank you very much for your cooperation.

A few bunkers are being renovated this year as well. The two bunkers on #18 are being renovated and the left side of #4 as well. These bunkers will have French drains and white sand will be installed. We are trying to complete a few bunkers a year until they are all renovated. We finished edging the bunkers last week and are moving sand back on the edges before the season starts; weather permitting. 

We look forward to the course opening and hope all the members and patrons will have a great year with low scores!