The golf course has presented its share of challenges this spring.  The contamination of our new fairways and rough with annual bluegrass is concerning but can be fixed.  We began to see the annual bluegrass last fall but felt current applications of growth regulators would keep it in check.  The difficult winter followed by the late spring increased its development and it exploded this spring.  We contacted the USGA once we saw the severity of the problem and are following their recommendations.  The USGA noted that this is not unusual with newly seeded fairways and rough.  Aggressive growth regulator applications are being applied every two weeks that inhibit the growth of the annual bluegrass and promote bentgrass lateral growth.  In addition we will apply a preemergent herbicide in late August to prevent annual bluegrass germination.  We are also collecting clippings at all times and mowing more fairways with light weight mowers to reduce the development of annual bluegrass.  Annual bluegrass reduction in the rough will most likely be the most difficult challenge we face.  Seeding in August and sodding of specific areas in late fall are recommended.

Besides the annual bluegrass problems we experienced some winter kill of bermudagrass on our driving range tee.  We expected it to grow out but it is clear that part of it did not survive and must be replaced.  On Wednesday May20th and Thursday May 21st the sod will be replaced.  We anticipate about three weeks for the sod to root in before we can play on it.

We understand the disappointment with the condition of the new turf but are confident we will get it back into shape.

 

The pollen has been so severe the troops are wearing eye protection when mowing.  Things are finally getting better.

 

 

Greens aerification went very well and recovery has been fast- but never fast enough.  We begin lowering the height of cut on Wednesday and hope to have sharp mowers for the weekend.

 

 

Our greens have great roots.  This soil profile shows how well the sand has been incorporated into the holes.  Notice the nice roots following the sand channels.

 

 

The first mow after aeration.  The height of cut is raised to allow the sand to work into the canopy.

 

 

May has been dry and we are irrigating as necessary.  Here Erik uses a moisture meter to check current moisture levels in the root zone.

 

 

Julio and Armando are doing some great work in our flower beds!

 

 

Perfect sunrise!

The vagaries of Mother Nature.  How disheartening and humbling it is to see so much of our new turf contaminated with annual bluegrass.  The good news is it can be fixed and we are on it.  We have begun aggressive growth regulator applications designed to whack the annual bluegrass while enhancing the growth of the bent.  We are also mowing more fairways with lighter mowers and are collecting clippings at all times as these practices discourage the spread of annual bluegrass. The bent has just begun to grow so with warmer weather it will really begin to fill in.  This is certainly one of the worst outbreaks of annual bluegrass we have seen in a long time.  The ugly seed heads make it that much more pronounced but its seed stage has peaked and the perennial grasses are beginning to grow.  Besides the annual bluegrass concerns our bermudagrass driving range tee took quite a hit too.  What we are seeing is direct cold temperature damage.  Late season play where the turf was taken down to soil as well as the shaded side are taking a long time to recover.  We aerated the tee on Wednesday to try and get the turf moving.  Underground stems (rhizomes) are showing signs of green so there is life but it will take time.  Warmer weather is a great cure for the course.

Annual bluegrass in the first fairway.  The light lines are from the seeder overlap from the September seeding in 2013.

 

 

The difference from seeding and sodding.  The sod is almost all bent.

 

Dragging aeration cores on the driving range tee.  This should enhance recovery but it will take time..

 

 

A rhizome beginning to grow.  Warm weather is a must for this to fill in.

 

 

Cores from two long weeks of aeration.  This area is going to be site of a pollinating garden in the near future.

 

 

Taking the crew to the parking lot after a productive day of greens aeration.  It will take about two weeks for the greens to recover.

 

 

 Beautiful azaleas at the 16th tee and Augusta worthy!

 

March, I mean April has come to an end and nice weather is in the forecast!.  Our greens have been outstanding this spring and one of the reasons is our ability to aerify regularly. We completed tee aeration today and begin greens next week.  Now that the turf is growing recovery should be enhanced though it will be "painful" to putt these greens for a while.  Please bear with us as we complete this important cultural practice.   

 

Sunrise special.  All the tees were aerated and topdressed this week.

 

 

Two topdressers speed up the process.  Core aeration and topdressing improve rooting of fine turf.

 

 

We used about fifty tons of sand on the tees!

 

 

A completed tee after brushing.

 

 

Annual bluegrass has been prolific this spring but the tide is beginning to turn.  We just completed our second application of Trimmit growth regulator in our fairways.  The bluish-green turf is the bent beginning to spread throughout the Poa.  Bent favors warmer temperatures. 

 

 

Amazingly soil temperatures have been stuck around fifty degrees for the last two weeks.

 

 

The contractor has begun replacing all the integrated circuit modules with an upgrade.  This work will take about two weeks to complete.

 

 

Prairie Fire crabapples behind the 11th green have been spectacular!

 

 

A male bluebird nesting in one of our houses.

 

 

April showers are bringing April flowers and are they beautiful!  What amazing tulips we are having this year.  Lets hope it doesn't get too hot and we avoid a bad storm to maximize their bloom time.  It is an extremely busy time for our staff.  Some very important pesticide applications are going down that are very specific almost to the week.  Working around weather and golf makes it difficult to apply sometimes but somehow it always gets done.  This week we are applying an insecticide that targets the adult annual bluegrass weevil.  We have been monitoring this insect for a while and feel confident this is the time to apply.  We also use plant stages to help pinpoint when best to apply and the forsythia shrub is one of our indicators.  When forsythias are in the half yellow/half green stage we know this insect is in its largest abundance as an adult in its life cycle and most susceptible to the insecticide.  Greens, tees, and fairways are to be sprayed this week as the annual bluegrass weevil feeds in low cut turf.  About a month later we will apply another insecticide that is directed towards the larval stage of this pesky critter.  Wish us luck! 

 

That little black spot near the center of the picture is the adult annual bluegrass weevil.

 

 

The course received 1.6 inches of rain last night.

 

 

Blowing off red maple flowers before rolling on April 11th.  Sometimes you just can't win!

 

 

Soil temperatures are gradually warming but were still 50 degrees on April 16th.

 

 

The crew made wood covers to protect fairway and tee plaques when spraying.  A member asked what are we doing to protect them!

 

 

The bermudagrass on the range tee is showing signs of life.  Unfortunately it will be mid-May before we are on the grass.

 

 

Adding a sprinkler where our recently departed gazebo once stood.

 

 

Cedar apple rust on junipers in the cutting garden.  This disease must occur on junipers and cedars before continuing its life cycle on apple trees.  The disease was so severe we elected to dig up the junipers.

 

 

Tulips at the 18th tee just opening and...

 

 

several days later.  Wow!

 

 

Tulipmania at the 11th tee.

 

It has been another productive week on the course so far.  In true April style we have experienced a variety of temperature extremes and unfortunately too much cold.  We avoided much of the anticipated rain though and have been able to finally complete some winter projects.

 

Soil temperatures have risen almost ten degrees in the last week and the turf is loving it.

 

 

The turf is rapidly recovering from the disease called pink snow mold.  

 

 

Another view of a severe area recovering.  It is interesting that we treated fairways last year and still had disease present.  We will treat specific areas this fall to try and reduce the damage.

 

 

We applied Dimension herbicide for crabgrass control to all the fairways this week followed by a light dose of irrigation.

 

 

Here is an interesting problem we are experiencing.  These are earthworms by the hundreds in our bunkers.  We must remove them with a blower before raking. 

 

 

The creek on holes seven and eight is finally cleaned up.  Great job by our staff!

 

 

The bent is finally beginning to grow and is showing excellent color.

 

 

The purple martins are back...

 

 

and our tulips are beginning to bloom.  Spring has sprung!

 

Finally a positive change in the weather!  What a productive week we have had so far.  We have completed deep tine aeration of the greens and it couldn't have gone any better.  We applied a fungicide to all the fairways and have seeded weak areas of the rough.  Growth is still way behind which is allowing us a little room to catch up before the turf really gets growing.  Soil temperatures on Monday were only 41 degrees so only a couple of degrees difference in a week.  We had hoped to have tulips blooming by spring break but we are settling for daffodils!  What a winter!

 

Yep the soil is still cold.

 

 

It has been a great week to play catch up.  All the greens received deep tine aeration.

 

 

Aerating followed by intense rolling to smooth the putting surface.

 

 

All the fairways and greens received fungicide applications.  On Thursday we applied a growth regulator to suppress annual bluegrass seed head production.

 

 

Seeding rough with tall fescue. 

 

 

Winter work is not yet complete.  The ditch on #7 is almost ready for prime time.

 

 

Bentgrass is just beginning to grow.

 

 

Purple martin houses are out just in the nick of time.  Our martins are back!