16 Creek Bank

You might be wondering what are the covers for on the creek banks on holes 11,16,17 and 18. We have seeded these areas with tall fescue to create a cleaner looking area as well as to promote pace of play. Because we have seeded late we are using the covers to trap in the warmth to promote germination. These areas, especially #16 are notorious for collecting golf balls. Just another step to improve the look of the golf course.

USGA Frost Delay Video

Frost Delays

As you are aware the temperatures are getting much cooler. And when that happens we start to experience frost delays. I have attached a video from the USGA to help with the understanding of the concept. Also attached is an example of  foot traffic on a green from one 4-some. And you can only imagine the damage that could incure if we were not to wait until the frost burns off especially on a green.

Bat Houses

On our pump house below the 10th Tees

We have installed 5 Bat houses around the golf
course, most of them situated around the pond that you see from the grill room. The purpose of this is to promote a bat colony that will not only have a place to live but also eat insects. We hope that this will limit the amount of insects around the out door patios. This is just one step of many to become a Certified Audubon Cooperative
 Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses. Did you know that bats can eat 600 insects in one feeding! The pictures below show where they have been mounted on the golf course.

On the fence adjacent from #11 Green

At the Short Game Gazebo

Located near the teaching Green

In the Native area right of #9 Green

Greens Needle Tine and Top Dressing

Today we are needle tining greens 3-8 to help improve the infiltration rate and really to allow oxygen into the soil. The greens are always harder to manage becuase of there micro-climate and there size, the smallest being 3900 square feet. The smaller the greens the less pin locations you have and the higher amount of compaction it receives. I can walk on #6 green right now and its like walking on concrete. The needle tine is a less invasive procedure to the golfer but still allows us to let them breath. For all of the greens we are top dressing them as well. Regular top dressing as I have said before promotes a smooth and firm playing surface and dilutes the organic matter that we accumulate through out the year. Also today the Tees are receiving a light application for the same purpose listed above.

Course Update, Bunkers

This is always something that we look forward to doing
after a heavy rain event. This morning we accumulated close to two inches of rain. Course as a whole does very well on drainage. But we do have some issues that need to be addressed in the future, the bunkers. Bunkers have a life span of around 5- 10 years depending on the design and internal functioning parts such as drainage and contaminated sand. As you can see in the photos we are lacking on the drainage. When an event like this does happen we have to pull all of our resources together to pump out and pitch sand back up to the edges. With over 50 bunkers ranging in size from under 1000 square feet to over 7000 square feet this can be a daunting task this can take up to three days to finish. Currently we are looking into doing some test bunkers using a product that lines the entire floor of the bunker making it one big drain instead of tile drains spaced where appropriate. We hope to see good results and apply this in the future to the rest of the bunkers. I do know that this product has performed extremely well with some other clubs in the area and the feed back they give me is astounding.

Golf Course Tree Update

This week we have begun to implement a tree pruning program. Our first stop was to increase the air flow around the #2 green and #5 green. We then made our away along #4 cart path as well as back to #3 on the both sides of the hole. Not only will this improve air flow but also play ability and aesthetics. Some of the areas all ready look more maintained than before. Our plan is to make our way through the golf course before the snow arrives.

#2 Green Complex, left side

#3 left side before

#3 left side after

B/W #3 and #9