Updates to dry conditions.

 This has been a very strange year to say the least. Lack of snowfall over the winter left the turf exposed and caused damage to the poa on 15, 9 and the putting green. These areas are healing well, but not as fast as some would expect. We had a choice to leave these greens open and continue play or close them and create a temporary green. The choice we made was to leave them open witch has caused a delay in how fast they are able to heal with active play on them daily. Please continue to be patient while the greens heal in. 

A cool damp April didn't do us any favors as far as warming up the soil. We see significant green up and growth when soil temperatures reach the 60 degree range. Although air temperatures are warm it does not always translate to soil temperatures rising quickly. Our last light frost was Friday, May 26th. Even though day time temps can get in the 80's or even 90's if you cool into the 30's or 40's in the evening you effectively lose any rise in temperature that we gained in the soils. 

May saw only .5-.9 inches of rain (we recorded a 1/2 inch, the airport recorder 9/10). Although we do have an irrigation system, it does have its limits, we do not have wall to wall irrigation across the course. We have a double row system on fairways and tees. This means that between the sprinklers on the left and the sprinklers on the right side on any given hole are getting adequate moisture to survive. Outside those sprinklers towards the rough is getting 1/2 the water that it needs or that the fairway is receiving. This is why you tend to see the edges of any area browning out. To get the outer edges more water would cause the in play areas of the fairways to be oversaturated which can lead to soft conditions, rutting from equipment and carts, and disease to the plants. 

The following are the irrigation totals in gallons for the last few years in May:

2023- 3,000,000

2022- 1,270,000

2021- 2,000,000

2020- 1,100,000

2019- 300,000

2018- 900,000

June 1-today we have ran a total 1,318,678 gallons. High temps last week didn't help either. We made it through and are catching up on some water with a few cloudy days. Its sad, but we are at the point where we will take a cloudy day to catch up and make a positive move forward with water.

Thank goodness for the wells, because we would not have enough water from the creek.With the extra water that we are using, the bunkers will be a lot firmer due to nightly irrigation. Bottom line is we need some rain to help us out a little bit. 

We do appreciate your understanding that our crew is doing just about all it can to keep up with this dry pattern and hope that you understand that we will not be wall to wall "green".  

Let's bring etiquette back.

 This is a good read from the USGA. The picture below is from Wednesday at HMGC on number 8 fairway bunker. I am sure we can do better, and your fellow members behind you would greatly appreciate it. 

Bring back golfer etiquette.

Recap of winter work.

 Our crew has been fairly busy over the winter with outside projects. We took advantage of snow free ground to remove trees that were unhealthy or not conducive to play. This also included cleaning out the hillside after you cross 12 bridge. While this area became more aesthetically pleasing, its main purpose was to allow you to see the fairway with the mirror behind the tee. There is such a small gap to be able to see with the mirror that the scrub tree in the picture below, once leafed out, made it nearly impossible to utilize the mirror. This will help and hopefully decrease the need to yell up to 11 tee to see if you are clear to hit. 

We are currently working on cleaning up the golf course of sticks and debris, so that when we do open we are ready to go. There still is a little frost in the ground, especially in heavy shaded areas such as 8 green complex. As we are closer to opening the proshop will send out a notice or message on the 4tees app. 

A new weather warning system with automated sirens was also recently installed. The main weather station is mounted above the proshop, with two additional sirens located on the course. One is at the snack shack and the other is mounted on the back of the driving range. This system is automated and will engage when a lightning strike is detected within 10 miles of our course. There will be one solid warning that will last for 15 seconds. When there have been no lightning strikes over a 15 minute period the system will then have 3 short five second blasts to give the all clear. This takes the human aspect out of sounding our previous sirens manually at the club and shack. The sirens can also be used to commence a shotgun start on the course. There are signs posted in the locker rooms to inform our members as well. Our weather station is equipped with a camera as well that may have an option to view via an app. 

Look forward to seeing everyone soon on the golf course. As the weather warms, hopefully we do not have to use our Elmer Fudd hats to stay warm!

Frost Delays

 This week we have already had a few lengthy delays due to frost. We do our best to try and forecast the delays the day before so that tee times can be adjusted accordingly so that our members do not have to sit and wait at the club. We get this right most of the time, but this is very dependent on how fast temperatures rise in the morning. The slower the rise in temperatures the longer it will take for the frost to burn off which not only delays tee times but also delays our ability to access the course to mow and blow leaves. Please take a moment and watch this video from the USGA on frost delays and the importance of not damaging the turf going into the winter when it can not recover on its own. 

USGA Frost Delay Video

Flooding 2021

 Due to the excessive amount of rain in our area on Wednesday and Thursday last week the course was closed due to the creek flooding. This is the highest that I have witnessed in my 7 years here and would imagine that it was worse than the stories I have heard from the 2006 Marathon tournament. 

Here are a few pics from around the course. Special thanks to our crew and the membership for their patience and care when we did open. Other than some debris you really cant tell that we were under water. We did lose the ballwasher from hole 12 so if anyone spots that in the next week or so, please let us know. 

2 fairway looking back at tee box.

11 tee looking at green. (12 tees completely under water)

7 green looking at 17 tee.

Greens Aerification

 We will be aerating greens on October 18/19. The course will be closed both days as we complete the process. 

Grubs, Critters and Undesirable Turf

 Every fall some of our nocturnal friends on the course try to find grubs to feast upon. You will notice light damage where they dig test holes, and if they find enough to make a meal they really tear into the turf. Most of the time they are racoons, but this year we are fortunate enough to have a family of skunks out near 4 and 15. Between 4 and 15 tees they have hit pay dirt and have done some significant damage to the roughs, especially the bentgrass that has migrated to where bluegrass should be. 

With any goof turf management plan we have to look at all the reasons that the animals are there and decide if the damage is at a threshold that we should take action. Below are the reasons the damage is happening and also what our course of action will be to hopefully prevent damage going forward or at least minimize it for the future.

Problems:

1. Grubs: There are always grubs in the soil that feed on the turf roots. We treat for grubs in the spring on all our greens/tees/fairways. This keeps the threshold down and we typically do not see damage to the turf. 

2. Animals: Racoons and skunks love grubs, they are a great source of protein going into the winter. As part of their diet they search for grubs in areas that are brown and usually not irrigated. Most of the time the damage is minimal and does not require action on our part.

3:Bentgrass in roughs: Over the years bentgrass can migrate and fill in areas in the roughs. Its not a desirable turf to grow at 2 inches and vey fluffy and hard to hit out of.   

Solutions:

1. Grubs: Spray an insecticide to kill grubs and other organisms in the soil. This is only done if the threshold has reached a point where the grubs are actually causing the turf to die. Spot treating some of these areas would be a proper course of action. 

2. Animals: Trapping the animals and relocating them will be done by a professional service, especially skunks. You will start to see some live traps on the course and we have hired a company to come in the morning to relocate the animals. 

3. Bentgrass in roughs: We will start a test trial between 4 and 15 tees with a product that kills bentgrass and poa only. The product allows us to seed right away as it does not harm bluegrass or ryegrass. It is a very systemic product that kills the roots as well, but as the plant dies it turns white instead of brown. 

There is no magic pill to stop any of the three factors from happening on the course but hopefully we can minimize all three factors so that we minimize our reactions in the future. We have chose this area between 4 and 15 tees so that you can see the effects and the progress that we will make moving forward. The area is also not in play so it will not effect any members or guest experience on the course.

The light colored area between the tires is bentgrass.

Light colored grass is bent. Animals not digging up bluegrass.

Animals have found grubs in the bentgrass, but not the bluegrass.