Course update

     Golf Course will open today at 12 p.m.  Golf course is thawing out and it could get slippery out there so be very careful walking to your ball and driving your carts.  The driving range will remain closed it is very soggy in the range and ball will plug.

New Rule Changes

     The USGA has posted a collection of Video's to help you understand the new rule changes.  Here is the link in case you need help interrupting the new rules.  I believe you will find it very helpful.  

http://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules-hub/rules-modernization/major-changes/major-changes.html

Extreme cold

     We have had it all this winter.  Lots of snow, rain and bitter cold.  As I am writing this blog post it is -3 degrees.  The high today will be around 8 degrees.  The good news it will be near 60 degrees this weekend.  The bad news is the green might not be thawed down to 2 inches.  I am optimistic if the course is not open Saturday it should be open by Sunday.  Playing on thawing greens can cause root shear.  Root shear is the sharing off of the Bentgrass root system at the freeze line.  I feel if root shearing occurs at 2 inches plus we can overcome the damage before summer.  If we allow play on the greens with less than 2 inches of thawing it is very difficult to grow the roots back to proper depth for summer.  With roots at very dangerous short length we could lose some turf  this winter from Winter Desiccation.  It is very important we protect our greens from any damage. Not all of our greens thaw equally.  The greens that get the most sunlight will be the first ones to thaw.  # 7 and 18 greens will be the last ones to thaw because they are push up greens. Below is diagram on the sudden thaw dynamics.  Please call Pro Shop before you come out.  We will be monitoring the greens and when all greens are thawed down to the 2 inch level the course will be open.

Tree Removal

     We have been busy removing trees the last few weeks.  We have 11 trees that died last year. We have 7 Ash trees that were removed because they had 1/3 of canopy dead.  The Emerald Ash Bore (EAB) is here in Missouri and they will attack and kill all Ash trees.  We have a lot of Ash trees on our golf course.  The good news is we will not lose all of our Ash trees.  They have some very good insecticides out that will control the EAB.  We will be treating most of our Ash trees.  The treatment is good for 2 years.  After 2 years we have to retreat.  Any tree that is already damaged or becomes damaged will be cut down. We have some really nice Ash Trees we can't afford to lose.  Dave and I will be evaluating all of our Ash trees and determine which tree need to be treated.  Below is a few pictures of some of our work.  We have cut down Oak tree in front entrance, Oak tree right 12 rough, Locust tree bottom of hill between 9 and 18, Oak tree next to 18 white tee, and the 7 Ash trees #10.  We still have 8 trees to remove when we can get back on the golf course.

 Ash tree removal #10 rough

 We took 7 Ash trees from #10 rough

 Oak tree from 12 rough

Oak tree from 18 white tee.

The Oak on 18 was little tricky to clean up.  Big limbs kept it in the air on a side slope.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to FCCC membership and co workers.

Frost Delays

   It is that time of year again we need to discuss frost delays.  When temperatures dip down  to freezing and below frost forms on the grass blades.  If you walk on the turf the frozen turf will break much like an ice cube.  This will cause damage to the turf.  Please wait until the Maintenance staff opens the course to play.  That includes the putting green.  I have had some people in the past think it was ok to practice putting when we have a frost delay.  Please go into the Clubhouse and have some coffee or hot chocolate until the frost burns off.  The colder it is the longer it takes to burn frost off.  If we have cloudy skies it will delay the opening even longer.  Below is a video from the USGA on this topic.

New Equipment

     If you have been out playing golf you might of seen some new equipment maintaining our golf course.  We have a new seeder, topdresser, leaf collection system for our Ventrac and 2 new used utility carts.  Also in early 2019 we will be getting two new fans for greens 10 and 11.

     The  new seeder will helps keep our roughs in top condition.  The only seeder we had did not slit seed.  It was a aerator and dropped seed in aerification holes on 4''x5''  centers.  We now can lay seed in rows 1.5'' apart.  With all the new sod from the bunker construction and the new sod we are laying around our green perimeters this seeder will help keep our rough in top condition.

     Our old topdresser was 20 years old and very unreliable.  We must topdress greens to have good greens.  This machine is state of the art.  You program it to put down a certain amount of sand and no matter how fast or slow you go it puts out the amount you calibrated for. You get consistent topdressing from green to green.

     The leaf collection system is a great tool to help us eliminate leaves.  In the past we blew the leaves and mulched them.  Now we can pick them up and remove them.

    Last we purchase 2 used Utility carts.  Dan and I have been using 2 old golf carts to work out of.  Golf carts are not made to work out of.  They are made to play golf.

     The 2 new fans will be here in February/March.  These fans will help # 10 and 11 greens.  These two greens lack air movement.  Air movement is what helps turfgrass cool itself in the summer time.  In the summer the prevailing wind is from the southwest.  10 and 11 greens have no air movement when the wind blows from the southwest.  The new fans will be mounted on a pole and will oscillate to cover the entire green.  We had some portable fans we used on #10 green in the past.  These fans were not big enough and did not oscillate.  We need a minimum of 3 mph air movement over the entire green.  You will see a noticeable difference in these greens next summer.