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! 

Winding down to winter

As we get closer and closer to closing for the season (60 days or so) we have a lot to do to get things buttoned up. We have sprayed our clover and broad leaf weeds for seeding preparations. We then proceed to slice seed in about 4000 lbs of seed in the fairways and fertilized them. There are always a few places where the weeds are stubborn but with time and dedication we will eradicate those pesky plants.

(Slice seeding and verticutting #7)

We are applying granular fertilizers to the greens as foliar is not as effective or even needed. The outside restrooms have been closed for the season however, the maintenance barn restroom is open and the portable restroom on #5 tee is open as well. We will be winterizing the irrigation system within the next few weeks and we will be renovating #18 right, greenside bunker.

Aerafication Update

It has been one week since we aerafied the greens. They are about 75% covered over and the sand is in about 95% of the holes. They have been cut with the rough cut knifes for the week and today we put on the secondary rough cut knifes. This collected the sand and any plugs that were not brushed off. By the middle of this week, we will switch them to the regular tournament knifes. This will touch up the greens and they should be back where they were before the aerafication took place. We're expecting cooler temperatures this week and potentially a light frost at some point. We will start fairway aerafication after the herbicide runs it's course and will then slit seed. We thank you for your cooperation.

This is a must watch video for all our patrons who do not know about aeration.

It's time for Aerafication and broad leaf eradication!

Most golfers can't stand greens aeration however it's necessary. 

Aeration, spring and fall, do a number of things that keep the greens alive and healthy. One is compaction alleviation. This allows the soil to be loosely arranged so that water, fertilizer, and herbicide can get where it needs to go. 

Without aeration, the greens would become compacted causing roots to struggle to get any nutrition and water needed to live. Another reason was already mentioned; water movement. With the topdressing sand in the new holes, this allows water to percolate through to the roots more easily. Also, aerating provides gas exchange throughout the soil profile. Turf needs oxygen to thrive. Without a ready supply of oxygen it will thin out and suffocate. We also aim to remove organic matter. Organic matter will absorb it's weight in water many times over as well as fertilizers, herbicides, and fungicides. Some organic matter is important however, it's less than 5% total mass of a green that is the magic number. In order to do that, we need to take away 15 to 20% of the surface of the green. 

This years fall aeration will be on September 9th starting at 2:30 p.m. We will be done sometime Monday morning. We are also doing broad leaf eradication, fairway aerafication, and slit seeding throughout the next few weeks. The course will be looking in top shape by the end of the season/next season. We appreciate your cooperation and patience as this is necessary and beneficial.

Repairing Ball Marks is Necessary

Repairing ball marks on a putting green is not only good etiquette, it's courteous as well. A ball mark takes roughly 15 seconds to repair. If immediately repaired, the mark will fill in and heal in 24 hours. If it is left alone and never repaired it takes around 15 days to completely heal. Properly repairing ball marks will keep a smooth surface for the groups behind and it will not leave a nasty scar for weeks to come. We fix ball marks whenever we can however, we don't have the time to fix every single one. That's where we need the help of the golfers. The most courteous golfer will fix their ball mark and one other. If that were to happen, I would confidently say that there would be no blemishes on the green from ball marks.

The way to fix a ball mark will vary from person to person. The method that I use seems to heal the spot much faster than other methods. I avoid the twisting motion because it rips roots and could bring soil to the surface. If you take a chunk of turf from the green from a ball mark then place the repair tool on the edge of the mark and lift the soil in the mark. There will be no turf there but it will level out the playing surface.

Auger Carrier on a Triplex

Today we discussed taking mowing and cutting cups and combining them together to one job. The limited manpower has made us use our time more efficiently and we came up with a holster to hold our auger and our bucket. The bucket will carry our cup setter, cup puller, hole paint, and anything small that is needed for the holes. It is very secure and has not fallen off yet. Thanks to Mike for coming up with the final product in this spur of the moment invention.

Update and Conditions

Recently, we have added this blog to add to the information that we provide the patrons and members. This can be updated much easier and quicker than updating long hand. To check the days playing conditions, look to the right of this column and there is a heading titled, "Course Conditions,". Here you can expect to find the course conditions and the weather conditions. This will be updated more than the course condition sheets were because it is more readily available to access and add information.

We have been very busy the past few weeks, keeping the greens in the best shape possible and mowing frequently due the recent cool temperatures. A plus side to the cool temperatures is we can get some cultural practices accomplished that would halt us in higher temperatures. With expected highs in the 90's by the end of this week, we will be out hand watering the hot spots and syringing to keep everything in the best shape possible.

We hope you can find this blog useful and informative. If you have any questions you can email me at ryan.leach@troyohio.gov