What crazy weather we are experiencing.  Hopefully we won't get sick from this warm, humid period.  We are wrapping up the course for winter.  We just completed blowing out the irrigation system with pressurized air.  If you saw the irrigation system running last week that was what was going on.  This process removes water in the pipes to prevent freeze damage.  Later this week we will put turf blankets on the 5th tee as well as greens 3,4 and 5.  These tarps protect the turf in this particularly cold area of the course from cold temperature damage.

 

Blowing our the irrigation system with compressed air.

 

 

The air compressor used in the process. We tap into the piping at the pump house.

 

 

The overgrown hedge behind the 7th tee was recently removed.  This area will be sodded when weather permits.  Some new screening may be required.

 

Looking back at the 6th green.

 

 

Bush hogging the naturalized area below the 3rd tee.

 

 

Another view looking from #4.

 

 

We had a nice holiday celebration at the Austin Grill on Friday.  Cheers to our crew!

The recent ice and snow storms have left plenty of work for our crew.  Tree branches galore as well as an abundance of leaves (and we thought we were done) are keeping the crew busy.  The new turf continues to pose challenges with leaf removal.  We have stopped allowing equipment on the turf as much as possible so much of the work is done by hand.  Herbicides were applied to the newly seeded rough to remove germinating annual bluegrass and was quite successful.  Some of the rough was dinged up a bit afterward by equipment driving over it during leaf removal but will improve rapidly in the spring.

 

The crew removing downed Siberian elm on the 7th tee.

 

There was minimal damage to the tee surface and the stump fell back in place.

 

 

On cold mornings and days we can't get on the course the crew stays busy.  Here tee markers are being prepared for the golf season.  We make our own tee markers from trees on the course.

 

 

Jose Nunez, Juan and Edgar getting it done.

 

 

Rony and Julio repairing ball washers.

 

 

David doing detail work.

 

 

Oscar getting ready to repair something one cold morning.  We break it, he fixes it!

 

 

Wood is split as time permits and is available to the membership.

 

 

It has been difficult keeping children off the course after the snow.  We posted these signs throughout the course but too little avail.  With all the new grass we are asking everyone to stay off. 

 

 

Damaged white pine that will need to come down.

 

 

Equipment damage on new rough grass.  Most areas will fill in but some seeding will be necessary.

 

 

Three fairway continues to fill in and...

 

 

has come a long way since October!

 

 

We are repairing some areas in the fairways while the weather is nice. Here sod specialists Richard and David admire their work.  Sod gives instant gratification.

 

 

We are taking the sod from the beginning of the thirteenth fairway and will replace it with rough sod when complete.

 

 

Quincy got a new bed and loves it!

 

 

Keeping watch over his kingdom.

Our last big project for the season is complete.  We finished the fairway bunkers on Friday in just the nick of time.  Our crew did an outstanding job and is to be congratulated for a job well done!  Unfortunately there is no rest for the weary as the ice storm Sunday did a number on many trees throughout the course so we will be shifting gears and cleaning up the course over the next few weeks.

 

Siberian elm on the 7th tee.  For some reason this variety of elm took it on the chin during the storm.  Siberian, really?

 

 

Red oak across the path on the 11th hole.

 

 

White pine damage.  These trees really hate ice.

 

 

White pines may be the worst golf course tree.  There will be some ugly trees standing after this storm.

 

The subgrade of the fairway bunker on the 14th hole.  Plenty of tree roots made the last bunker we did challenging.  We intend to root prune outside of this bunker when time and weather permit.

 

 

Satisfaction is knowing this is the last one.  The sand will firm up over the winter.

 

 

We seeded some deep rough areas after all the leaf mulching was finished.  Hopefully the seed will germinate and improve these areas next season.

 

 

Winterberry coated with ice at the clubhouse entrance.

 

 

 

 

We are taking advantage of some of the last nice days of December this week.  We are down to the wire with our bunker renovation project with ten down and two to go.  Our goal is to be done by the weekend.  The leaf work on the course is essentially done.  Leaf removal on this course is a chore and was particularly difficult with all the new turf.  We are also doing some late seeding and fertilization before winter officially arrives.

A sure sign that winter is here.  This is Patriot bermudagrass on the driving range tee entering dormancy.  We do not overseed this as overseeded  bermudagrass has a difficult time transitioning back in the spring in our area.

We apply a preemergent herbicide in early September to prevent annual bluegrass from germinating and contaminating the bermuda.  Here is a lone annual bluegrass plant that somehow grew.

Mulching leaves in the deep rough for hopefully the last time.

Erik fertilizing rough on the second hole.  Late fall fertilization is extremely important as the plant builds energy reserves for next season.

We are growing some nice roots.  This is from the fifteenth green.

This is from the second fairway.

Roots are at least three inches long in the new fairways which we are pretty happy with.  This is from the fifth fairway.

Twelve fairway bunker before...

and after!

Remember the soggy area just past the red tee on number fifteen?  Gone!

Plenty of new vistas with the help of some tree removals. The third hole as viewed from the sixth tee.

Turf twister.  What caused these circular lines in the rough?

Another area with these crop circles!  Give up?  This occurred during grow in.  We experienced an electrical power failure one night during our irrigation cycle.  The sprinklers lost pressure and washed away the seed before shutting off. 

The third hole with the new turf and bunkering.

Winter is arriving early it appears.  What a cold Sunday we are having with the temperature at least twenty degrees below normal.  On Saturday we did some final watering and then drained the irrigation system.  It will be blown out with compressed air in a few weeks. Final fungicide applications were made to all the greens, tees and fairways as well as a herbicide to the new rough to control annual bluegrass.  Bunker work is continuing and nearing completion.  Leaf blowing and mulching is almost complete as well.  The cold wind this weekend has really brought them down.

 

The fairways are young and tender.  This is cart damage to the eighth fairway from blowing leaves.  Seeing this kind of damage influenced our decision to wait till spring to open the course.

 

 

The third fairway continues to fill in.  This will improve rapidly in the spring.

 

 

Another view of the third hole.

 

 

Erik applying fungicides and chelated iron to the fifth hole.  Iron helps improve winter hardiness.

 

 

Crystal BlueLinks bent on our green nursery.  This variety of bent has good shade tolerance and was interseeded into many of our shady greens.

 

 

It is easy to tell where we seeded.  This picture shows dormant bermudagrass adjacent to the renovated rough and fairway on the eighteenth hole.

 

The fifteenth hole.

 

 

Number sixteen.  The light and dark pattern on the fairway is created by the mowers running in a counterclockwise pattern.  This allows the mowers to stay off the tender rough as much as possible.