Friday, April 30, 2021

Colors of Spring

 

Photo by Clubhouse staffer Devon Desmond

We have been open for almost a month and a half, we are now in full spring bloom. The crab apples and maples have flowered and the rough is growing (some would say out of control). We will have two mowers going for the next few weeks to try and keep up with the rough but its an uphill fight, especially when we lose days to snow and rain. The roughs that were sodded with the bunker project have all been inter-seeded as well this spring. Pure stands of bluegrass and bentgrass need warmer soil temps before they wake up from dormancy. Add walking and cart traffic to these areas and they tend to get thin in the shoulder months of the season. This will improve as the plants mature and acclimate to our soils and cultural programs. With the warm rains on Wednesday night helping to warm the soils, I already notice these areas are starting to green up. 

Like most other seasonal business's we are seeing a slight labor shortage. I have high school and college students lined up and they will be starting in the next few weeks, but it has been a struggle this spring to keep up with detailed tasks. Hopefully this will change this fall, but the staff that we have has done a great job of keeping up with the day to day tasks. 

Ballwashers will go out next week, after what is hopefully our last frost. We will be minimizing the number of washers that we put out on the course. This is due to reduced usage and minimizing clutter on the course. The bagroom has towels to use and there are buckets on the first and tenth tee. 

The spring scramble is tomorrow, good luck to all of those that are participating. Please continue to rake bunkers, fix ball marks and replace divots. 



Friday, April 23, 2021

Sand and snow.

 While the bunker project was completed last year it does not mean that the bunkers are maintenance free. We spend an enormous amount of labor to keep them playable and as consistent as possible. On average 3-5 hours daily to rake them in season, plus mowing and edging of 15-20 hours per week. This is what I would consider "routine" maintenance. We also periodically check the depth of sand in the bunkers, and would like to see four inches of sand on the floor of the bunker. The bunkers lose sand to compaction, wind, and shots that blast the sand out of the bunker. This week we added sand to the short game bunkers, 9 fairway, 14 green and 18 green. When we add sand we are adding an inch or two to the floor of the bunker. This will continue to happen year in and year out and the better we stay on top of this the more consistent the bunkers will be. Yes, these particular bunkers will be different for a week or two, but I would rather do this now than in the summer while events and matches are being played. If we were to do this in the late fall we likely will lose a significant amount of the sand to high winds that we experience in the fall and winter. 


The snow storm really did not hurt the course at all. We received about 5 inches of heavy wet snow, and the only damage was to some branches that could not handle the weight. These were for the most part the white pines and the elms between 14 tee and 9 fairway. Below is a picture of the crab apples right of 15 cart path. Once the snow melted the branches went back to where they should be. 





Thursday, April 8, 2021

Green Aerification

 When I started here in 2015 my predecessor, Dan Salois, aerified greens every spring and fall. He was able to bring the organic matter (thatch) to a manageable level during his tenure.  We sample soils twice a year and I made the decision to just aerify in the fall as our organic matter levels were holding steady or slightly increasing. After three years of just fall aerification the organic matter kept increasing when we sampled the greens so we made the decision to throw a spring aerification in every other year and this has stabilized our organic matter to the proper level. 

    With variable weather in the months of March and April it is hard to plan a date for spring aerification. I try to just pick the first "good" Monday where the weather cooperates. We were fortunate to have decent weather on the 5th of April and we decided to get the aerification started and finished our process on the 6th. The holes should heal by mid next week and we will reap the benefits throughout the rest of the season. These benefits include decreased organic matter, better drainage, more oxygen to the roots and an overall healthier stand of turf. 


Thanks for understanding the benefits of this disruptive process and enjoy the rest of the season.