Winter is upon us

For the last couple of weeks, temperatures have started to consistently drop to the freezing mark at sunrise. Maintenance activity  and our ability to complete work in a timely manner are greatly influenced by the below freezing temperatures. Currently, greens are being mowed one time a week and bunkers are being touched-up one to two times a week. Soon the greensmowers will be retired for the winter and the deer will have free roam of the bunkers. Now, every green has two hole locations requiring each group of golfers to rotate the flag to the other hole location after putting out. On the tees, only the Regular and Forward sets of markers are at each tee complex.  During the winter season, some of the tee locations could be “fairly radical” in an effort to spread wear and tear damage to the non-growing zoysia grass.

Golf carts need to stay off the fairways. When driving in the roughs, try to refrain from driving carts down the fairway edge for long stretches. In the perfect world, you would hit your tee ball and then drive down the cart path until you are ninety degrees from your shot and then leave the cart path to drive to your strategically positioned tee shot.  Of course your cart partner would have hit their tee shot right next to yours, so after both of you hit second shots onto the green, then you would drive the cart back to the cart path and travel to the green. In case your golf game has a glitch and your shots are less than perfect, just remember that limiting your travel time off the cart path is the ultimate goal for golf cart use in the winter. The root system of the grass is in a fragile state due to the constant freeze thaw cycle that accompanies the  nice playing days. Most winter damage is not evident until April when the course tries to grow out of dormancy. 

Maintenance activity:

• Begin working on renovating the last fairway bunker on #5 along with the two greenside bunkers on #5 plus two bunkers at #4 green.
• Replacement of several rotten railroad ties on the steps below #4 tee. Removal of bermuda contaminated zoysia along green edges at #3 green has been started. The bermuda removal work will resume in late March and April.
• Tree pruning and brush removal on slope below #4 tees.
• Spot spraying zoysia with herbicides for poa control and elimination of bentgrass contamination.
• Repairing some rotten floor boards on the bridge at #1.
• Filling some sink holes behind the rock walls at #1 and 9 lake edge.

You know it's getting colder when the green starts to have multiple dark spots throuhgout the putting surface. After years of cross breeding bentgrass, the improved varieties have genetic clones that react to the cold temperatures by turning dark blue to almost black. As the grass gets older, the spots will become more pronounced. Nothing to worry about because they will fade back to green as temperatures warm up in the spring.

The evidence left behind

Over the years, I've stated many times "there's a little Caddy Shack in every golf course". Every golf course has  issues with critters of somekind. Shadow Glen is no exception. With our natural buffers along hole perimeters, we provide the perfect setting to enhance wildlife populations throughout the golf course. Unfortunately, with the abundance of wildlife comes the issue of co-existence. In frustration, I've also stated that we lose more turf  to animal activity than golfers Here's some photos of what's left behind as our friends play on your golf course.

 Each morning you never know what you'll find. Our little bambis like the sand at #15 green. Where's the rake!

The foxes don't like the bunker liners because they can't bury their food deep enough into the bunker.

Hole #17 fairway bunkers

Grub damage along #7 fairway.

An abundance of grubs feeding on grass roots.

This little guy tunneled up to the cart path edge and he decided to cross the cart path and continue on with his excavation work. With the dry conditions, the moles are moving from the tree lines to the golf course in record numbers. In the last two months, approximately forty of these subsurface explorers have been TERMINATED!!

 I caught this guy in the act. This red fox was burying his catch in the sand pile at our holding bins by the shop. I wish they would dig in the sand piles at the shop instead of the course bunkers more often.

The deer rut season will arrive in the next two weeks. Hopefully the king of the woods will prove his valor off the green surfaces. We will know soon enough..........

Catching Up

It's been awhile since the last post, so I have alot of catching up to do. September has been an extremely busy time on the golf course with member events  and trying to encourage the golf course to heal from the stresses of the summer.  The temperatures have been very nice and the rainfall minimal. In the last forty-five days, the golf course has received about one inch of rain. The course is dry in some areas and wet in others depending on how the irrigation sprinklers throw water and the course topography.  The zoysia fairways are off color in some areas due to the drought and a couple of spotty frosts. At this point, we have experienced four frost delays.

The native grass conversion on holes #8 and 18 is pretty much complete. The tall fescue is well on its way of establishing itself and filling-in. Both areas have been mowed one time in the last week. The following pictures represent some of the preparation steps taken to encourage a successful transition to the tall fescue native area.

Round-up spray of the existing warm season native grasses.

Native grass boundary defined by round-up spraying.

The seeding effort is underway with a walking aerifier, a verticutt/ seeder and a rotary spreader broadcasting seed also.

Part of the renovation work involved removing years of silt accumulation below a storm drain culvert that dumps water and debris across the native area. The guys did a nice job excating the silt and grading the area to direct water to an existing drainage collection basin located in the right rough.

Once the storm drainage path was graded, fescue sod was planted to minimize erosion while the seeded areas establishes itself.

The tall fescue is actively growing and returning a green look to the area.

The Native Grass Conversion project is complete on hole #8. Next spring the grass will be allowed to grow to eight inches. An area behind the green as been defined to receive minimal mowing also. Change is underway.....

Bermuda Contamination Elimination Trial 2011

Bermuda grass is becoming fairly evident throughout the golf course. Every part of the golf course has been contaminated with the unwanted grass. In a effort to test how effective round-up herbicide is on complete kill of the bermuda, several test areas in the roughs have been treated. The test areas are on hole #6- in the right rough and hole #16- in the left rough. Photos will be posted to document the progress of the trial.

 Bermuda grass contamination #6 right rough

Dark green bermuda grass in #16 left rough

Sprayed bermuda grass #6

Sprayed bermuda grass on #16

#6 Bermuda one week after first spray

Three applications are planned for the bermuda grass areas on #6 and #16. The second spray is planned for the week of August 22nd and the third spray for the week of August 29th.

Hole #6

 Beginning of third week, after two sprays

Hole #6, bermuda after two applications of round-up herbicide. Some stolon are brown and some stolons are still green.  The fnal application of herbicide will be Wednesday, August 31st.

Summer temperature extremes

Weather Conditions for June – August 2011

By Eric Bickel, Hallbrook Country Club, Superintendent

Two in a row?  Similar to last year, for a 30+ day period, the extreme heat has been accompanied with higher than average humidity, lower than average wind speed, and no periods in which conditions have allowed for any recovery to the cool season grasses. The turf has remained in peak stress conditions for this entire time period.  During these types of conditions the turf is unable to perform its basic physiological processes. To exasperate the stress, soil temperatures between 98 and 101 degrees persisted for the last ten days of the heat wave.  How hot was it?

For the 29 day period of July 10^th through August 7^th the average high was 97.4 degrees and the average low was 79 degrees.  The average dew point for this time period was 70, and the minimum temperature never reached 70.  Total rainfall in Leawood was less than 1.5”.  Other areas received higher amounts, which in some cases over-saturated the root zone and resulted in an accelerated heating of soils taking water away as a method of cooling.

           

Rank	Ten hottest seven day periods by rank for last 25 years
	year	date	high	low	avg
1	1987	July 28th-3rd	101	80	90.5
1	2011	July 17th-23rd	100	81	90.5
3	2003	Aug 15th-21st	102	77.5	89.75
4	1999	July 25th - 31st	97	82	89.5
4	1999	July18th-24th	100	79	89.5
6	2007	Aug 11th -17th	99	79	89
7	2011	July31st- 6th	98	79	88.5
7	2010	Aug 8th - 14th	99	78	88.5
7	1991	July 16th-22nd	99	78	88.5
10	2000	Aug 28th-3rd	101	75	88
10	2011	July 24th-30th	97.5	78.5	88

For 25 year period 1987-2011:

                        Hottest month---------------------------------------July 2011

                        Hottest week----------------------------------------July 17^th-23^rd 2011, July 28^th-3^rd 1987

                        Hottest day-------------------------------------------August 2^nd 2011

                        Hottest average temp for June through July-----2011

Most consecutive days with lows above 75-----July 14^th-Aug 4th, 2011

                        Most total days with lows above 75 Jun-Aug---2011

                        Most total days with lows above 80 Jun-Aug---2011       

Honorable mention for 2011:

                        Most total days above 95—---------------------2011 is 2^nd to 1988

                        Most severe root decline days-------------------2011 is 2^nd to 2010

                        Most consecutive days in the 90’s -------------2011 is 2^nd to 2007

                        Most consecutive days with lows above 70---2011 is 2^nd to 2010

With 16 days remaining in August, the summer of 2011 could also have the:

                        Most total days over 100

                        Most total days over 90

                        Most total days with lows above 70

                        Hottest average temperature June through August

           

Hopefully current forecasts are accurate and we are finished setting records.

           

Injury from heat, traffic, ball marking, divots, disease and maintenance accumulate during these periods.  In extreme cases like this summer, this accumulation can accelerate past the point of return.  Areas where air movement and morning sun are restricted are particularly prone to these types of accumulating injuries, as micro-climate heat indexes can average 20 degrees above actual.   Even with excellent growing conditions this spring, turf loss on sites where environmental limitations exist can be an unavoidable truth.  Golf courses which are heavily forested or are located in low lying topography are most prone to this type of impact.

We are good at making a mess!

On a golf course, to make things better you have to make a mess in the process. The last month has been very busy prepping the golf course for the Hickory Stick and the Fourth of July weekend. The week of July4th, the course was closed on Tuesday, Wednesday and half a day on Thursday for aerification of greens, tees, aprons and fairways. The crew worked two 10 hour days to get everything completed with some clean-up remaining for Thursday and Friday.

                                          The aerifiers in action at #16 green surround

 #16 green surround aerified and fairway almost complete

#11 green zoysia apron aerified

                                          The soil cores are pulled and pulverized fairly quickly.


Now we are ready for the Dog Days of Summer. The crew will focus efforts caring for the greens and fixing irrigation issues as they arise.

The Heat is On!

Since my last post, the golf course has filled out to near perfection. In the last thirty days, the crew has completed  or nearing completion of the following:

• Relocated the fan at #1 green
• Beautified a shrub bed at #2 Tee with a rock retaining wall and some new plant material
• Added a fan to #2 Green
• Added a fan to #3 Green
• Relandscaping the electrical service access trail  on the right side of #2 and  #3, behind #11 green and left of #16 tee
• Relocated the fan at #10 green
• Added a fan to #11, #12 and 15 greens
• Replace the walking steps along the street by #7 Tee along with a small rock retaining wall and gravel
• Planted some new shrubbery behind #7 tee, along the street
• Planted some additional trees between #1 and 9
• Made some zoysia sod repairs along edge of #5 green, #6 ladies tee, #8 green back apron area and the south chipping green
• aerified the greens followed by heavy dusting of sand
• Sprayed the roughs with fungicide
• Taken out two cedar trees behind #10 green
• Cleaned up the canyon below #18 green

All of the above was done after prepping the golf course for each day's play demands.The crew has accomplished alot and now the golf course is ready to be maintained for the summer period. The timing was just right as above normal temperatures appear to have set in. So now, our focus is watering dry spots throughout the golf course.

With regrets I need to share that Spencer Roberts, one of my great assistants has accepted another assistant's job at Omaha CC.  He will be living in the next couple of weeks.  This new job is a great opportunity for Spencer as Omaha CC will be hosting the 2013 US Senior Open!  Best wishes for Spencer.

Gotta go, it's hot outside..........

Last minute touches

The golf course is greening up nicely despite the recent cool weather. The greens are on the mend from their recent drill and regular aerification practice. The staff is trying to finish up small project work in anticipation of the new golf season just around the corner.

The zoysia continues to green-up on a daily basis.

Drainage work at #6 green.

Fill material carefully placed around new pipe extensions.



Crew busy restoring liner and drainage in #6 greenside bunker.

Floor liner installation almost complete at #6 green.

 #6 green bunker back to a playable condition.

Notice 10-12 inches of bunker sand along grown-in edge. Hey Spencer, how much has the grass edge grown into the bunker?

Today was a rain-out which allowed me to catch up on invoices, personnel forms and communication avenues. Tomorrow is the ladies Opening Day with a 9-hole shotgun on the back nine. We'll be ready! 



Down and Dirty

Weekend temperatures in the mid-eighties have accelerated the growth rate of everything on the golf course. The bentgrass on the greens started growing on Sunday just in time for aerification.

Fairways starting to green up prior to hot weekend

The week of April 11th is focused on two areas. Greens aerification and working on the drain lines around greens on the front nine. Above, #2 green being drilled and filled to a depth of 12 inches deep. Now the roots in the new sod can easily grow into the seedbed . Below is #10 green after being drilled and just prior to our standard 5/8 inch hollow core aerification. Significant positive enhancements to the seedbed where the bentgrass grows were achieved with this aerification practice.

Two green's plugs with one showing the foreign sand layer that came with the sod. One of the purposes of this week's aggressive aerification is to break up this layer to aid downward rooting into existing seed bed before the summer stress period.

Working on the drain lines at each green site continues to be a challenge to locate  the pipes with minimal damage to the golf hole. Unfortunately, most of the exit points are in the front approach of many greens as illustrated with the photo of #3 green. It's hard not to be an inconvenience to play. At this location we found the drain line located in a 12 inch wide rock saw cut trench line approximately eight feet down. When we uncovered the drain line we found the pipe completely blocked with soil. Natural drainage was severely limited. We were able to jet the line clean and now water will move down the line although slowly due to the pipe grade sloping back towards the green.

With this herculean effort to locate twenty-two year old drain lines, you find that quality controls were somewhat lacking during the original construction  as evidenced by the crushed drain line leaving the back half of #3 green. Our efforts are not to question the past but prepare for a better future.

This week has been a great week for the golf course in regards to performing cultural practices that will greatly enhance the growing environment at each green in the very near future and for several year to come. The down side is that playing conditions will take a step backwards for a short period as the course and greens recover from all the disturbances.

The green-up is underway

In the last three weeks, the golf course has experienced two  Monday  snowfalls and two record high temperature days of 84 and 88 degrees.  Thirty to forty degree temperature swings have been the norm with the winds racing across Kansas City at 20 to 40 mph from a different direction almost daily. The effect on the golf course has been positive with the soil temperatures steadily increasing and pushing the various grass types  to green-up and start growing.

The week of April fourth has been a busy chaotic week for the maintenance team. Twelve seasonal employees arrived on Monday ready to work another seven month stint at Shadow Glen. Seven guys are returning employees with five new bodies to train. We are trying to implement a new maintenance strategy which will require a week or two to workout the bugs as we strive to improve our efficiency over an eight hour day by creating maintenance zones. By keeping groups of workers in smaller sections fo the golf course I hope the reduced travel time will result in better time efficiency with the ultimate goal of providing better course conditioning day to day.

The verticutting of the greens on Monday went smoothly followed by a light sand topdressing and fertilization. Also, a rusted leaking forty-five degree steel elbow fitting on the four inch irrigation main line under the cart path at #6 tee was removed and replaced with ductile iron fittings and a concrete thrust block was poured for support while the course was closed on Monday. In the next couple of weeks, we need to return the cart path back to 100 percent. Cudos are due the crew as they endured a 20 to 40 mph north wind with temperatures hovering in the low 40's and the wind chill below freezing most of the day.  Welcome back.... Oh yes, I forgot to mention that a strong storm with hail and high winds ripped through the golf course on Sunday night leaving the course littered with tons of tree limbs to pick-up before any mowing could be accomplished. Fortunately, the course suffered minimal damage with the bunkers absorbing the hail quite well.

Tuesday added to the chaos as a healthy frost delay stalled the course from opening on time while the assistants tried to keep twenty-two guys busy for three hours until the frost cleared. Our library of training videos came in pretty handy for this type of scenario.

Wednesday was a beautiful day and the work effort flowed more smoothly. We mowed fairways on hole #13 though 17. The mowers firmed up the fairways, spread some earthworm castings and created a nice visual with the return of the mower stripes. Ahh, the future looks good and the fairways are providing a good playing surface as they green-up.

The rest of the week looks promising with the potential of severe storms over the weekend. Most of the time I hate when it rains on weekends but over the next ten days, it can't rain next Monday or Tuesday! Our greens aerification is planned for those two days and I need to get this done in this window for everyone's sanity!

Spring Breeze

The strong southwest jet stream has pushed temperatures upward and literally blew open buds on trees and shrubs in the last week.  Everything is transitioning very quickly. I hope we don't get a hard freeze.....

Greens are starting to fill-in with the density and color of the sod improving daily. Right now, we are mowing the greens three times a week and rolling one to two times a week.  The ball is rolling fairly true with speeds ranging in the high nines to low tens. I plan to keep two holes in the green until the week of March 28th.

 Seasonal employees are starting to trickle back with each passing week. By April 4th, the maintenance team should be reaching near full capacity.  The conditioning of the greens will become more consistent as the staff numbers increase over the next two weeks.  In the last week, the crew has been adding sand to a bunker in the left rough of #2, changing out poor performing sprinkler heads on hole #1, cutting native grasses, making sod repairs along cart path edges on the front nine and  repairing the deteriorating rock wall around a storm drainage pipe in the left rough of #1. The staff harvested rock and placed them along a storm runoff ditch along the left side of #10 fairway in an effort to slow down the rain water and keep tree litter off the fairway.

 Erosion repair along drain head wall- #1 left rough

 Backfilling with soil and tree root pruning in preparation of sodding.

Sod repair complete

Renovation work in progress at maintenance shop

Over the next 10 days, we need to apply pre-emerge herbicides and fertilizers on the roughs, tees and fairway edges.  The presence of poa annua in the zoysia aprons around greens will warrant a herbicide spray application on Monday, March 28th. In order to accomplish this treatment safely around the greens, I need the wind to be slight to nothing and I need to eliminate golfer traffic. So, based on the weekend weather forecast for Monday, I may close the course to play and keep the range open if the weather cooperates.

The erratic weather fronts of March have been favorable to the golf course. At this point, I would say the course is ahead of schedule and as usual we are behind in our efforts to make restorations throughout the golf course. The things to do list never ends..........our efforts just get redirected with each weather event.