Tree Damage

We lost a Ash tree today.  With the strong winds one of the forks of this Ash tree broke off.  Their is quite a bit of rot in the place of the break.  This tree is on hole # 2 between cart path and fairway.

Fore The Golfer: Frost Delays and Turfgrass Health

Below is video from USGA on frost delays.

Frost Delays

We are in that time of year that we may have a frost delay.  Early tee times before 10:00 a.m. are most prone to frost delay.  I have seen frost last well past 10:00 a.m. but most cases it is gone by 10:00 a.m.  Below is a little education on Frost and how the turf is damaged.

Frost

Frost is a form of ice and can only survive at temperatures of 32 degrees Fahrenheit and below. But that doesn’t mean the measured air temperature must be 32 or below for frost to form on a surface. Green grass, for example, absorbs sunlight and heat during the day, then loses heat when the sun goes down, so the grass’s temperature may be lower than the surrounding air temperature. This temperature differential causes moisture to condense on the grass during the night. If the temperature of the grass then falls below freezing, the moisture may crystallize into frost. This can occur even when the nearby air temperature is in the upper 30s, particularly when the air is calm.

When and Where Frost Occurs

Frost may occur overnight, but it often forms at sunrise, before the temperature begins to rise. Frost formation on grass is possible in any location in which the blades’ temperature falls to 32 or below, even if temp would reach into the 70's

Damage to Grass

Frost itself doesn’t damage grass in the way that it may damage other growing things, such as citrus fruit. However, golfers walking on frosty turf may harm the grass quite badly. Because the grass on putting greens is cut so low, around 1/8 inch, it is particularly vulnerable to damage when it’s covered by frost. When a golfer walks on frost-covered grass it is more likely than normal to break and suffer ruptured cell walls.

Delayed Impact

The damage caused by walking on frost-covered grass may take two to three days to appear. By that time the damaged blades may turn purple or black, eventually fading to a very light brown. If the plant’s growing point is undamaged, however, the grass should regenerate. If the growing point is damaged, the plant may die. Additionally, weaker grass, even if it doesn’t die, may be more susceptible to disease and weed formation.

Under Brush taken out of 7 and 8 ditches

We have cut out under brush on holes 7 and 8.  Under the direction of Art Schaupeter a Golf Course Architect out of St. Louis , Missouri  we opened up these areas.  Art stated we should be able to see shots that go right of 7 green, plus the trees were blocking the right side of the green when tees were on the right side of all 3  tee boxes.  On hole 8 the right side of 8 green was blocked by trees and under brush even if you hit the ball in the fairway.  If you hit ball into the ditch and took your drop you had no clear shot to the green.

 #7 Before

 # 7 After

 # 8 Before

 #8 before Cypress tree removed

# 8 after Cypress tree was removed

Winterizing Irrigation system

The Monday before Thanksgiving we blew all the water out of our irrigation lines.  This is a pretty big job.  We first open up drains and heads in low areas to drain out as much water as possible.  We have to rent a large air compressor.  We pump air into the irrigation system at the pump house.  This pushes all the water out of the irrigation heads that we turn on 1 station at a time until all water is pushed out.   We have 263 total stations.  It takes 8 to 10 hours to push all water out of our system.

 Compressor hooked up at pump station

 Water being pushed out of system

 Air and water being pushed out.  Notice the fog.

Sprinkler head almost purged of all water.