Picking up Speed

The weather is slowly approaching more consistent conditions to previous years, and with more cooperative weather there has been a flush of activity.  A number of projects are either nearing completion or have been completed, and with warmer temperatures the prospect of completing projects such as the seventh tee are looking much brighter.  To bring you up to speed, with the removal of numerous trees on the left side of the first approach the irrigation control boxes became very exposed and out of place.  To remedy the problem both the irrigation control boxes and the lightning detection system were moved to a less conspicuous location.  On the seventh hole we have installed a new submersible pump, the pump was connected to the existing irrigation system to help supplement the use of city water.  This system will allow us to start using water from the property, rather than purchase all our water from the city.  If successful this could have far reaching effects as to a direction for the future.  To become more self sufficient with water usage would not only lead to huge cost savings but eliminate the reliance on the city.  We've also recently finished an extension of the stone wall in seven brook giving the area a little face lift in the process.  As all this was going on the crew has been diligently working to clean up the course, from cleaning out bunkers, to cleaning out the numerous stump holes, and many other areas in lieu of the fast approaching season.  For now it appears the weather will be a little more cooperative, or at least one can only hope, and with the improving forecast we will be working hard to get the course primed for the season. Enjoy the remainder of March, and we'll see you out on the course.

Running wire to new cement pad prepared for
irrigation control boxes.

Labeling every wire to assure each station
matches the previous arrangement

Removal of old galvanized pipe in
preparation for pump installation

Trenching new pipe from pump to existing
irrigation system

Mound created to protect new pipe that
connects the pump to existing irrigation
system

New pipe run along cart path on seven.

Construction of seven wall

Managing Greens with Highly Variable Weather Patterns

The warm weather over the past week has melted most of the snow, exposing much of the grass on the course.  The remaining snow on the greens has softened giving us the opportunity to remove it (via snow blower and shovels), exposing the layer of ice covering the surface of the greens. Topdressing sand was spread on the ice to accelerate melting.  The darker sand absorbs the suns rays increasing temperatures at the ice surface, accelerating the melting.  In low lying areas where water pools on the greens, we removed a strip of sod to allow the surface water to drain from the green.  Removing the water eliminates freezing and thawing cycles which can lead to turf injury or death.  That's not the only means turf can be damaged from winter conditions.  It is subject to direct temperature kill due to very cold temperatures, desiccation due to cold persistent winds if there's no snow cover, or through annoxia (oxygen deficiencies) due to prolonged ice cover.  Winter weather, depending on the severity, can prove to be a very trying time with numerous challenges and obstacles to overcome.  In the months leading up to winter we take an active approach to strengthen the turf to help prevent winter injury.  Some of the practices we implement going into winter are  sand topdressing to protect susceptible plant tissue, increasing the height of cut to provide a greater surface area to photosynthesize, providing adequate fertility to help with nutrient storage, as well as keeping plant growth restricted with plant growth regulators. While there's no silver bullet in dealing with winter injury, especially with the winter we've had, you do your best to stack the cards in your favor to reduce if not eliminate any potential damage.    

Sod stripped from the front of 16 Green to aid in surface
water removal.

Snow removal on the 6th green exposing layer of ice.

Physical removal of snow on the 9th green to expose ice layer to expedite melting.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Winters Persistence

View from one fairway looking
back at the clubhouse

Welcome to the Willow Ridge Grounds Blog, and incidentally the inaugural post.  I just want to take a brief moment to put a face to the blogs author, Joshua Haugh.  For those of you that don't know me, I am the current assistant superintendent here at Willow Ridge and as of March I will be heading into my fourth season.  Prior to my time here I spent a couple seasons working at Whistling Straits in Sheboygan Wisconsin, which offered many invaluable opportunities and provided me with the chance to work the 2010 PGA Championship.  While Whistling was incredible, Willow Ridge has also provided me with some invaluable experience that will surely benefit me as I continue to progress in my career field.  That being said I am excited for the start of the 2014 golf season here at Willow, and look forward to another great year.

The catalyst behind the blogs conception was education, to help shed some light on the maintenance practices performed throughout the season to provide the membership with the best playing conditions.  This blog while directed toward the membership is not solely relegated to them, it will also help provide perspective to other employees not within the grounds department, or any other individual whose interest is piqued by golf course maintenance.  We stand to offer insight, reasoning, and visual representation of what we're doing and how it effects the golf course.  That being said if there is anything that piques your interest, don't hesitate to pose a question.

Switching gears now, as you're all aware this has been an uncharacteristic winter for the area with snowfall totals exceeding 50 inches and  the cold temperatures to keep it around .  Couple the heavy snow with thawing and freezing cycles and the occasional rain shower, and you have a winter with a number of challenges.  The weather has slowed a few projects (7 tee renovation, Tree removal) we were making headway on earlier in the winter, and made travel onto the course a dangerous and at times an impossible endeavor with hard packed snow mixed with sheets of ice.  However in lieu of the variable and cold weather the crew has been working diligently to refinish all of the accessories on the course, such as the tee markers, benches etc, so when the weather does break we can hit the ground running.  The crew has also spent some time customizing storage units helping to make our operation more efficient.  We have also gone through each individual piece of equipment to insure reliability, this includes but is not limited to reel and bedknife sharpening, general maintenance, and many other aspects of equipment maintenance.  Also, prior to the icy conditions we dedicated some time to pruning trees, and raising the base of many trees to help with playability as well as offer greater clearance for our equipment.  So while stymied by this cold snowy winter, the guys have really done a great job getting other facets of our operation prepared for the upcoming season. In parting envision those warmer sunny spring days, and eventually they will come to fruition and yield another great season for golf.                                

Crew taking advantage of warmer
conditions to prepare the benches
for the onset of the golf season.