Winter Weather Coming To An End...Maybe

Firstly I would like to introduce myself, Ryan Carey, as Assistant Superintendent here at Willow Ridge and the new author of this blog. Some of you may have seen me through the past season and I hope my hard work has not gone unnoticed. Coming from the University of Connecticut Storrs with a bachelors degree in Turfgrass and Soil Science I spent my first two years at Burning Tree Country Club in Greenwich, CT on the grounds crew. I came to Willow Ridge Country Club in the Spring of 2014 in an effort to expand my knowledge base and advance my career towards my ultimate goal of becoming a superintendent. I have thoroughly enjoyed what Willow Ridge to offer including my fellow employees and the members. I look forward to providing the club with the best possible conditions and another great season.

With the past week of temperatures reaching the mid 50's it looked like spring was finally upon us. It is nice to get back out onto the course and begin to prep everything for this upcoming season. Always looking for ways to improve the course we have worked hard to get the course accessories in tip-top shape. Through the winter we have been busy refurbishing the tee markers, ball washers, benches, as well as creating new bird boxes.

The tee markers were hand sanded down and repainted with two fresh coats of paint to ensure that they are as vibrant and clean as they ever were. With over 100 tee markers out on the course, it was a lengthy process to ensure the quality we strive for.While the ball washers underwent a similar treatment, the benches were broken down into the frames and slats. From there the pieces were prepped for either painting or staining before being reassembled.

We also are replacing some of our older bird boxes with brand new, hand crafted bluebird boxes. Made out of cedar to ensure that they stay beautiful for years to come.

Assembling bluebird boxes

Throughout the last week we began to clear the snow and ice off of the greens. Prolonged periods under ice and snow become favorable for turfgrass pathogens and create a poor environment for the health of our greens. Our two main goals are to prevent crown hydration where the turf uptakes surface water which then freezes and ruptures the plant cells. And to prevent ice encasement where the air underneath the ice becomes toxic and depleted of oxygen. Both of these can result in plant death, so we do our best to thwart any upcoming problems.

Using shovels and the snow blower to carefully remove snow from the 6th green

Unfortunately, the forecast is calling for 2-5 inches of snow tonight into tomorrow. However the sunny skies Saturday should melt the snow quickly making it seem like the storm never happened by the end of the weekend.

Revamping the Seventh Hole

Substantial progress has been made since our last update on the seventh hole.  After the removal of sod, we directed our focus to filling in the front left bunker, and reshaping/expanding the front right and far left bunkers.  The bunkers on the left hand side of the green, have undergone quite a transformation.  Rather than having individual bunkers along the left hand side, the bunkers are being combined into one large bunker.  The bunker has been shaped with new capes and bays to create depth, as well as give the bunkers some much needed character.  The bunker has also been expanded to encroach on what will be the new approach.

The right hand bunker is also going through some transformations of its own.  Much like the bunker on the left, it is expanding, again encroaching on the new approach.  The bunker is being reshaped to create more depth, while also injecting more aesthetic value.  Much of the work performed thus far has been roughly shaped, leaving the fine details to be finalized when the weather breaks to accommodate such steps.  

Drainage was also installed in what will be the new approach on seven.  The drainage runs through the right hand bunker which will help in reducing standing water in the bunker itself.  We're looking to remove as much water, both surface and subsurface, from the area to create a firm, and dry approach to encourage more shots to bounce up onto the putting surface.  

Given the variable weather and the reduced crew size, significant strides have been made on the renovation of the seventh hole.  When weather permits we will have to finalize both bunkers, as well as cap the entire approach with 3-6 inches of a top mix (sandy mix) to promote a more uniform root zone that allows for better water infiltration and thus firmer conditions.  Although the snow has shut the project down, the silver lining here is that we're likely only a week or so removed from laying sod, and getting the hole ready for the 2015 season.  

Expanded bunker on the left side of the seventh green.

Seasons Greetings

From all of us on the grounds crew, we'd like to wish you and yours a spectacular Holiday Season, and look forward to seeing you in 2015.

All the Best...

-Grounds Crew

Time is Fleeting

The 2014 Golf season has come and gone as quickly as the latest social fads pop up and fade into trend purgatory.  It was again a very successful season, where we felt we had built upon the foundation from years past and streamlined our operation to continually improve.  We continue to progress and grow, and will continue to offer conditions that suit our golfing membership.  That being said I hope you enjoyed golf this year as much as we enjoyed providing you with great daily conditions.  So we leave 2014 and welcome a new season, with new challenges and new goals of which we intend on exceeding, we will see you in 2015.

Throughout the week we will be going through our standard procedures to close the golf course.  These steps include closing the holes in the greens, removing all tee markers, bunker rakes, benches, as well as the remainder of garbage cans.  We will be placing the flags in the temporary greens in those holes that have them, keeping in mind that most par threes are lacking a temporary cup.  We understand that sometimes the turf may resemble a healthy actively growing stand, but this time of year does not offer much latitude for recuperation.  By that we mean that although green and healthy, the turf is not growing at this time (and if it is, it's growing at a negligible rate).  Also with a great reduction in solar radiation and it's strength, normal rain events that would typically dry in a 12 hour period during the summer take a couple days this time of year, leaving a saturated profile not capable of withstanding golf cart traffic.  Not to mention excessive water, with freezing temperatures pose a problem as well.  As you're all aware ice is simply water with a crystal lattice structure, that lattice structure is created when the water expands as it freezes.  Now if it expands in the plant and fails to rupture the cells in the plant, chances are your golf cart will rupture the cells rendering the plant dead.  We tend to err on the side of caution, because everything takes place much slower this time of year, and that includes recovery if it is even possible.

COURSE UPDATES

At this point we have completed the renovation of the 2nd blue tee, 7th water tee, 10th ladies tee, and 18th blue tee.  Each tee involved the stripping of sod, regrading of base material (Which was added), followed by the eventual resodding.  We have also begun the renovation of the seventh hole configuration.  If you are not aware the new design will bring fairway height turf right to the green itself, the front left bunker will be removed to accommodate the new fairway, and the bunkers on the far right and left will be renovated to breath some new life into the hole.  We are very excited about the project, and after getting started last week we have made good progress until getting stymied this week with wet conditions.  To this point we've stripped all the sod from the area being transitioned to fairway, the front left bunker has had all the sand removed, and the original fairway on seven has been halved from its original size.  We will continue to update you on the status of the project as things progress.  Apart from projects, the leaf cleanup has kept us quite busy as I'm sure many of you can attest to, while over the past couple weeks we wrapped up our final chemical applications as well as our final cuts to all areas.  That being said we are excited about the prospect of our ongoing projects and hope everyone has been enjoying the holiday season.    

Stripping nearly half of existing fairway on seven, and  salvaging quality sod to be reused

Resodding what use to be fairway with quality rough sod harvested from what will serve as
the new fairway expansion 

A look at the transition from fairway to rough, and the beginning of the transformation from
rough to fairway nearest the green.

Resodding the seventh water tee following the final grading of the surface.

The seventh tee following sodding

Adding an additional irrigation line to accommodate slightly larger teeing surface on ten
ladies tee.

Fall Ball and More

It's that time of year when trees begin to steadily shed their leaves, the full spectrum of hues can be seen among the trees, and incidentally (this is a person preference) this is prime time golf weather.  Autumn brings in cooler temperatures and tends to push out the humidity that does it's best to cling on to this metropolitan area.  It also signals a change in our maintenance practices or I should say at least the frequency of practices when compared to the peak summer months.  With cooler temperatures and a great reduction in solar intensity, the growth habit slows, water requirements are reduced, disease pressure is greatly reduced due to lower humidity, and inputs as a whole are greatly reduced.  This allows us to alter our mowing schedules, spray schedules etc., which happens to be great timing, allowing us to focus on other practices that correlate to the autumn months.

The transition in weather correlates directly to our transition in maintenance focus.  As cumbersome as it is to stay on top of leaf cleanup, it's something that must occur.  It does in fact suck up a good portion of our maintenance crew, however as mentioned earlier the weather acts as a universal growth regulator slowing down the otherwise voracious pace of mother nature.

You'll notice that the greens have been aerified just this past week.  The crew worked exceptionally hard, and with cooperative weather we couldn't be more pleased with the results.  This may in fact be a bone of contention for many, but it is imperative that it be done, and frankly they're still relatively smooth.  Aerification signaled our last significant cultural practices, and now with autumn weather in full swing our focus can begin to shift to other projects that need our attention.  We have completed the resurfacing of the men's blue tee on the second hole, and we are poised to begin other tee projects the scope of which are more substantial than the second tee.  Ironically enough the weather while slowing the growth habit of the course in preparation for the looming winter months, has accelerated our work habit toward other ancillary projects, which will all have a positive effect on the not too distant 2015 season.  Enjoy the fall ball, and we hope to see you out there.

Touching up rough grade of the blue tee on number two, before putting finishing grade on tee.

The blue tee following sodding.

The Breakdown: What's the Thought Process to Watering

I apologize for the long hiatus, but the time that elapsed from the last post til now seemed like a moment of brevity.  The summer has been cruising by, or so it seems such, however for as mild as the year has been the past couple weeks of hot sunny weather is beginning to impose it's will on the turf.  I'm sure many of your home lawns are experiencing a similar set of circumstances, if enough water is not applied than your likely seeing some browning, discoloration, and a much slower growth habit.  It's very natural, but that brings us to that limiting factor, the one vital resource that dictates whether our lawn is green or brown, lush or hardened off, and that of course is water.  We've touched on this topic via a previous post, but today we're trying to provide a different perspective in order to provide a more complete understanding of the nuances that go into properly managing water usage and thus turf health.

The rough on the right side of the 17th fairway, is getting
stressed because the rough is only watered when the
fairways are, and we water lightly to help with playability

  As you drive around the course I'm sure you've noticed that peripheral rough areas are turning brown, and some may even be entering a stage of dormancy until weather conditions are more apt for growth.  This is normal for a course that does not have wall to wall irrigation coverage, not to mention one that does not have their own irrigation supply.  Due to the nature of our irrigation supply (City water feed), we must also be cognizant of water usage to be fiscally responsible when meeting our forecasted budget.  When we set the irrigation system for nightly watering we have a hierarchy of importance, with greens being the most important, followed by fairways, tees, and rough.  With most golfers it doesn't matter if the courses fairways and tees are perfect if the greens are thin, diseased, and overall in poor condition.  Greens are the focal point for every course, which is why they are our initial priority, meaning if we need to run the rough less in a dry spell to give the greens additional water we will do so.

Drain lines drying out on the 10th fairway.  Due in large
part to the sandy nature of the trenches.  If we watered
enough to prevent the drain lines from wilting, the fairway
would likely be a swamp.

Throughout the day we'll monitor greens, tees, and fairways with hand held moisture meters in order to gauge their condition as well as to determine the length of time irrigation needs to be run that night.  When determining the length of time to run irrigation, we also take into account playability.  It would be easy enough to just run everything for extended lengths of time to make sure the turf was wet, but that would not provide the best playing surface.  So we collectively look at the upcoming weather, is it going to be hot, wet etc, then we must take into account is there a tournament, or is it a day where there's little to no play, meanwhile having a pulse on the condition of the greens prior to running irrigation.  In lieu of weekends and tournaments we will error of the side of less water to promote greens that are relatively firm but also receptive, striking a balance that most golfers appreciate.  To assure there's not excessive wilt on any given day, we will also schedule a team of handwaterers to preserve playability as well as the overall health of the turf.

The rough right of one fairway stressed, due to warm dry
weather, coupled with a lot of cart traffic.

In making the decision to water, we must also consider a number of other variables such as the state of the irrigation system.  In a number of areas on the course we still have transite main lines (combination of cement and asbestos), which are very brittle in nature, thus they can only withstand so much pressure without increasing the potential for the main line breaking.  In many cases we are also relegated to city water pressure, so we don't have exceedingly high pressure to run numerous heads at once.  You see, each head requires a certain PSI in order for it to run, if the pressure is insufficient the head will not pop and the following day that area will likely be wilting.  This now runs into another consideration, when running the heads in multiple areas it could take up to 8 or 9 hours to cycle through all the set programs, the issue there is we only have so many hours in between the last group of the day and the first group of the next day.  So we must customize our water schedule to fit within this window, but also strike a balance that will not leave widespread areas with insufficient moisture.  Also, when you run the water for extended periods of time you increase your likelihood for disease, so this is another variable we must consider.

Looking back at the 18th and 9th tees where the rough is
badly stressed, due in large to an irrigation system that
doesn't have full coverage.

It sounds daunting in some regards, but you must work with what you have.  Which is why throughout the summer there is a crew handwatering greens, tees, and fairways to supplement for the inadequacies of the irrigation system.  The importance of water management on greens cannot be understated, too little for too long and you're wilting substantially, too much with extreme weather and you promote disease, succulent turf easily injured by foot traffic, a lack of oxygen in the root zone, and a number of other detrimental side effects.  Perhaps a bit verbose, but we wanted to give you a broad view of what goes into water management during the stressful months of the season (playability, time, priority, money, state or irrigation system, and weather), and that at the end of the day you have to work within the confines of your system to keep things in an acceptable health and playability range.    

A Striking Topic

We all can relate to Bishop Fred from Caddyshack, where he's having the round of his life and on the precipice of breaking the course record in severe thunderstorms.  We've all been there where we feel we need to finish the hole, but let me assure you it's an ill advised decision that can end much like it did for Bishop Fred in Caddyshack.  On average 54 people every year are killed by lightning strikes, and as one might guess the majority of these strikes occur during the summer months when people are outside enjoying the warmer temperatures.  Lightning strikes cause more deaths annually than tornadoes and hurricanes in the United States, a statistic that certainly caught me off guard (As of research conducted in 2001).  Overall there are 25 million cloud-to-ground lightning strikes annually in the United States, so it's very important that proper safety measures be taken to prevent potential accidents.

A retrospective photo depicting the path the lightning traveled after
striking the green.

The Golf Course Industry has really made a concerted effort to stress and implement safety measures for not only golfers but for golf course employees.  Lightning detection systems are currently the status quo for golf courses around the world.  Technology has advanced (and continues to advance) to allow each course to customize their system, allowing them to dictate the radius at which the lighting detection horn sends out their signal to alert golfers to impending thunderstorms. For instance the lightning detection system at Willow Ridge is set to sound the horns when lighting strikes within a 0-5 mile radius.  Thus it's critically important to immediately stop playing and seek shelter, preferably at the club house.

A breakdown of lighting caused deaths based on location

Here at Willow Ridge our system will send out a continuous high pitched tone when lighting is within our set parameters, alerting golfers to immediately stop playing and make for the clubhouse to seek shelter.  When the storm cell moves through and is no longer in close proximity to the course, the lighting detection system will send out an intermittent tone alerting golfers that if they wish they can go back to finishing their round of a lifetime.  It's imperative to get off the course in the event of thunderstorms, because there are miles of wires running beneath the turf and they can conduct current if struck.  While the likelihood of this happening is very slim, there's no sense in playing with fire.  Also when playing with a group remember that it's just not about you and finishing out your last hole, the well being of group is being jeopardized by a fool-hearty decision.  Safety is paramount, it's much easier to come back and finish the round or play another day than to survive a lightning strike, just some food for thought.   Lightning, the threat is real and we take it very seriously, and we will continue to educate and make sure our system is running properly.  So we only ask that you value your safety and well being, and make judicious decisions when thunderstorms are headed our way.  Live to golf another day.