Tree Work

     The cooler temperatures is giving us time to get some much needed projects completed.  We rented a boom lift to cut tree down on hole 12 and clear some high limbs that were blocking tee on hole 18.

Lift hole #12

 

Ash tree was hanging over 12 Green

 Hard to believe tree was standing.  It was hollow.

 

  Removing limbs from 18 Tee's

Drainage work

    With the cooler weather we are able to work on our project list.  We rented a trencher and cut in the drains that were clogged up by tree roots on holes 3 and 4.  We will be getting trencher back to work on more areas. 

 Trenching #3

 Working # 4

 Drain was emptying out into neighbor lawn 

We move drain down hill away from neighbors yard

Hickory Tree # 9 Tee

     The dead Hickory tree next to the forward tee on # 9 was removed today.  Dan got some good shots of the tree falling.  That tree has been on the to do list for a while.  Glad to see it go.

Going

 Going

 Going

Gone

Hydrojecting

     Today we did our second Hydrojecting to our greens.  We will do this one more time in August.  Hydrojecting gives our greens much needed oxygen to the root zone.  It also displaces the CO2 that accumulates in the root zone area.  As I stated in my earlier blog on Hydrojecting too much CO2 is bad.  It also helps to dry our greens out.  It give the moisture a tunnel to leave.  Too much moisture this time of year can be costly.  We want to manage the water and air the greens receive.  If  Mother Nature decides to give us more rain than we need the Hydroject holes will help manage the excess soil moisture. 

 Hydrojecting # 18 Green 

Hole pattern is 3inch by 3 inch.  You can hardly see the holes.

Sod Work

     We have been busy fixing some bad areas in Fairways.  Holes 4, 6, and 15 all had some thin spots.  All areas have white paint around them.  Play as ground under repair.  Take a drop and please keep carts off new sod.  Here are few before and after pictures.

 # 4

 # 4 after sodding

# 6 after sodding

Greens

     At the moment our greens are in great shape. Weather has been hot and humid.  That is a combination that can turn good greens to poor greens real quick.  As I was changing cups this morning  I had a chance to examine our root system.  We have roots coming out of the bottom of the plug on a number of greens.  This is a really good sign.  6 to 7 inch roots going into summer is amazing.   The deeper the roots are the more area they have to pull water and nutrients out of the soil profile.  The stronger the plant is the better it can fight off stress.  Below is picture of one of the plugs I pull out.  You can see the roots coming out the bottom.  If you look closely you can see a big hunk of roots on the left side of the picture.  Seeing this has made my day.  Dan and I have been putting in a lot of hours the past couple of weeks taking care of the Greens.  This makes it worth it. 

# 14 green

Venting Greens

     With the high temperatures and high humidity we are spiking greens.  This helps greens dry down and  helps with gas exchange in the soil profile.  The greens need Oxygen to reach the roots and we need Carbon Dioxide to leave the root zone.  Too much of the later and you will see a decline in the turf.  We will spike the greens every other week.  You can hardly tell we spiked the greens.  We mow them after and the slits are barely visible.  We are also going to implement alternating mowing and rolling greens until the temperatures cool down.  You should not see any difference in ball roll on the greens on day we do not mow.  The rollers will smooth the putting surface.  As long has the heat stay with us we will continue this practice until it cools down.  Hopefully soon.

Brushing Green

     Today we brushed our greens before we mowed them.  Brushing helps stand the leaf blade up so the mower can cut it.  The bentgrass on our greens is Penncross Creeping Bentgrass it is notorious for growing horizontally.  We will continue this practice to help get all of these lateral leaf blades cut.  This will dramatically improve ball roll on our greens.

 Brush we use to incorporate sand after aerifying.

 You can see all the lateral leaf blades pulled up.

Sodding # 12 Fairway

We finished fixing the bad spot in 12 fairway. looks much better now.

 Before
 

After

Fairway Design

I would like your opinion.  Last year we mowed our fairways using the Classic Cut.  That is 1/2 fairway mowed in one direction and 1/2 mowed in the opposite direction.   This year we are back to stripping  fairways.  Which method to you prefer?  We have found out we do not save any time using the Classic Cut.  It comes down to what do the members prefer.  Let me know just post your vote in the comment section below last picture.

 # 9 Classic Cut

# 9 Stripping

Sod work

We have been busy fixing some of the bad areas in the Fairways.  Here is a before and after of # 2 Fairway.

Removing old material.

After sodding.

My Staff

   
     I would like to take a moment to thank my staff for the great work they have been doing.  This has not been an easy spring. Wet weather has dominated  the past 7 weeks.  We have had 10 inches of rain since April 6th.  With all the wet weather it makes it very hard for us to get jobs and projects done.  The grass does not know any better it keeps growing no matter what and this puts added pressure on all of us.  I am grateful to have one of the best staffs in the industry.  I have the pleasure to supervise a great group of men and women.  They truly have the best interest of the Club and it shows.  The golf course is in great shape.  We are kicking off our golf season this Friday and Saturday with the Krakow Cup.  Our first of many tournaments this year.  It is not a easy task to keep this golf course in great playing condition.  No one can do it alone it takes a team.  My team consist of staff  6 full time employees, 3 seasonal and 3 summer.  Thanks you Team for a job well done.
My full time staff
 Dan Tod (Assistant Superintendent)
 Rob Bardot (Equipment Tec)
 Karen Burns (Horticulturist)
 Tim Larrison Irrigation Tec)
 Kyle Frankenburg (Equipment Operator)
 Nick Wachter ( Equipment Operator)

My seasonal staff
 Duane Schieble
 Larry Ronsick
 Sonny Stone

My summer help
 Connor Watson
 Mike Wachter
 Nathan Holdmeyer

Below is some of my staffs work. 

# 6

Clubhouse