Our spring-like weather last weekend has chased the snow off greens, tees, fairways and all but the shadiest areas of the rough. I always enjoy a nice January thaw as it allows me to get out and check turf conditions during a time when we usually have a couple feet of snow cover.
I'm happy to report that the fine turf areas are doing well. I have seen a few spots of superficial gray snow mold on a few tees and fairways and nothing on greens. I always get a little nervous when we have a warm late fall/early winter after our snow mold applications have been applied but, like last season, this doesn't appear to be a problem at this point and hope that our control holds up until spring.
Bill and Dan are just finishing up carts this week and will be back down to the shop to start on our maintenance equipment early next week. They were happy to only have 115 carts to service this season, not needing to service the 30 that we are trading for newer models. They give each cart a very thorough physical, changing filters, oil and belts on each one, and brakes and seat covers on carts that may need it. They do a nice job making sure you have a reliable and comfortable cart for you each season.
Hope everyone had a safe, healthy and happy holiday season and we look forward to seeing you in the 2013 season.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
#8 Lake Rough
Despite the wet weather we were able to get the bare soil to the right of #8 Lake Course around to #9 Lake Course tee and between #7 Lake Course and #9 Lake course seeded with fescue late this fall. We have had great germination for such a late seeding and it is looking good and healthy heading into winter, if it ever comes.
We will give it a small shot of fertilizer in the spring and then let it grow up into a low maintenance area for the rest of the season with a mower width of mowed turf adjoining the right side of the cart path. I think it will be a very nice new look for the hole when it matures.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
We will give it a small shot of fertilizer in the spring and then let it grow up into a low maintenance area for the rest of the season with a mower width of mowed turf adjoining the right side of the cart path. I think it will be a very nice new look for the hole when it matures.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
It's been a while.
It has been over a month since my last blog update, and for that I apologize. Maintenance, projects, and Mother Nature have kept us hopping since mid August. The following is a brief update of what has been happening since then.
Aerification - Our fall aerification went better than it has in 10 years. We were able to core aerify all greens, tees and fairways, something that hasn't been accomplished since 2002. All have healed and will provide healthier turf for 2013. The one bit of aerification not accomplished this fall was a deep tine on the greens, but we will be able to get that in around the first part of April. I would also like to start deep tining fairways and tees when we find time, but this will likely be intermittent with our 36 holes.
Leaf Cleanup - The end of aerification coincides with early October and the beginning of leaf drop. As we finished up the last of our fairways, we swapped our aerifiers for debris blowers and the battle was on. Early cleanup went well and we were able to keep the course clean. Then the rains started and we have been a swamp since mid October. We have been able to take care of them, but not in the same efficient manner we usually do. The course will be its same clean self come snow melt in April.
Projects - I ambitiously thought we would be able to level three tees this fall, and if Mother Nature had provided a normal weather pattern, we would have been in business and ready for play in the spring. Unfortunately, it is difficult to level native soil tees in constant rain and we will have to complete them next spring before we move on to the next tees on our list.
We have finished grading and cleaning the areas left from the tree removal project and were able to get them seeded before the rains started. They have come in nicely and I'm excited about how the area will look next season.
Next up - Late November starts our yearly maintenance of our fleet of carts and maintenance equipment, something that will take us until the end of March. Did you know that we have roughly 165 carts combined in our rental, learning center, and maintenance fleets? That's a lot of oil, filters, brakes and time to get them ready for your round in April.
Hope everyone had a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving!
Trevor
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Aerification - Our fall aerification went better than it has in 10 years. We were able to core aerify all greens, tees and fairways, something that hasn't been accomplished since 2002. All have healed and will provide healthier turf for 2013. The one bit of aerification not accomplished this fall was a deep tine on the greens, but we will be able to get that in around the first part of April. I would also like to start deep tining fairways and tees when we find time, but this will likely be intermittent with our 36 holes.
Leaf Cleanup - The end of aerification coincides with early October and the beginning of leaf drop. As we finished up the last of our fairways, we swapped our aerifiers for debris blowers and the battle was on. Early cleanup went well and we were able to keep the course clean. Then the rains started and we have been a swamp since mid October. We have been able to take care of them, but not in the same efficient manner we usually do. The course will be its same clean self come snow melt in April.
Projects - I ambitiously thought we would be able to level three tees this fall, and if Mother Nature had provided a normal weather pattern, we would have been in business and ready for play in the spring. Unfortunately, it is difficult to level native soil tees in constant rain and we will have to complete them next spring before we move on to the next tees on our list.
We have finished grading and cleaning the areas left from the tree removal project and were able to get them seeded before the rains started. They have come in nicely and I'm excited about how the area will look next season.
Next up - Late November starts our yearly maintenance of our fleet of carts and maintenance equipment, something that will take us until the end of March. Did you know that we have roughly 165 carts combined in our rental, learning center, and maintenance fleets? That's a lot of oil, filters, brakes and time to get them ready for your round in April.
Hope everyone had a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving!
Trevor
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Saturday, October 20, 2012
An appropriate quote.
As we begin to implement the second wave of tree removals near certain greens and tees and fairways, I thought this quote from renowned golf course architect seemed appropriate. I found it on Twitter posted by @jdrgolfdesign, golf architect Drew Rogers.
"I sometimes take my very life in my hands when I suggest that a certain tree happens to be spoiling a pretty good golf hole" AW Tillinghast
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
"I sometimes take my very life in my hands when I suggest that a certain tree happens to be spoiling a pretty good golf hole" AW Tillinghast
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Aerification Update
The rain we enjoyed yesterday and last night, while just what the weak, dry areas needed, also threw a wrench in our aerification schedule. The large amount of extended rain we received made our fairways too wet to effectively aerifying today, causing a ripple effect in our fairway aerification schedule.
What this means to you is that we will now need to aerify on an unscheduled day in order to finish before we start on greens September 17th. I will look at the tee sheet to see what day(s) will impact play the least and choose one accordingly. My apologies if it happens to fall on one of your planned outings, but please keep in mind we have the good fortune of having two wonderful golf courses and should not interfere with your golfing experience.
Thank you for your understanding.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
What this means to you is that we will now need to aerify on an unscheduled day in order to finish before we start on greens September 17th. I will look at the tee sheet to see what day(s) will impact play the least and choose one accordingly. My apologies if it happens to fall on one of your planned outings, but please keep in mind we have the good fortune of having two wonderful golf courses and should not interfere with your golfing experience.
Thank you for your understanding.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Aerification Reminder
Just a reminder that the back 9 of the Lake Course will be closed Wednesday August 22 and Thursday August 23 and the back 9 of the Hill Course Friday August 24 do our crew can safely and efficiently aerify fairways. Please be patient as we start and complete this very important agronomic practice.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Is it mid September already?
Nope, it's only mid August. Then why, you might ask, are we aerifying the golf course?
The answer would be because when we wait until mid September, we are unable to complete all of our aerification because of the busy golf schedule and the seemingly self sustaining rains, we cannot get it all completed. It has been at least 5 years since we were able to complete every green, tee, and fairway on all 36 holes. This is a trend that cannot continue if we want to keep Chautauqua Golf Club outperforming our local competitors. The turf needs relief from compaction and the buildup of thatch to allow air and water into the soil profile, keeping a good root system and healthy turf plants longer into the summer stress months.
The plan this year is to get the tees done this week (Lake Course tees are already done), and chip away at the fairways between now and the first week of September. During this time we will be closing the course we are aerifying to not only ensure that we can be as efficient as possible, but to keep our staff safe from, not-so-errant golf balls.
Greens will be done 2 weeks later with the Lake Course closed on September 17th through the 19th and the Hill Course closed September 24th through the 26th. And, as usual, Mother Nature may decide to change these dates so it is best to be in contact with the Pro Shop if you are looking to play on these dates.
Important dates: (subject to change in weather)
August 16 - Hill Course Closed, tee aerification.
August 22 - Lake Course, Back 9 Closed, fairway aerification
August 23 - Lake Course, Back 9 Closed, fairway aerification
August 24 - Hill Course, Back 9 Closed, fairway aerification
August 28 - Hill Course, Front 9 Closed, fairway aerification
August 30 - Lake Course, Front 9 Closed, fairway aerification
August 31 - Hill Course, Front 9 Closed, fairway aerification
September 5 - Lake Course, Front 9 Closed, fairway aerification
September 6 - Hill Course, Back 9 Closed, fairway aerification
September 17-19 - Lake Course Closed, greens aerification
September 24-26 - Lake Course Closed, greens aerification
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The answer would be because when we wait until mid September, we are unable to complete all of our aerification because of the busy golf schedule and the seemingly self sustaining rains, we cannot get it all completed. It has been at least 5 years since we were able to complete every green, tee, and fairway on all 36 holes. This is a trend that cannot continue if we want to keep Chautauqua Golf Club outperforming our local competitors. The turf needs relief from compaction and the buildup of thatch to allow air and water into the soil profile, keeping a good root system and healthy turf plants longer into the summer stress months.
The plan this year is to get the tees done this week (Lake Course tees are already done), and chip away at the fairways between now and the first week of September. During this time we will be closing the course we are aerifying to not only ensure that we can be as efficient as possible, but to keep our staff safe from, not-so-errant golf balls.
Greens will be done 2 weeks later with the Lake Course closed on September 17th through the 19th and the Hill Course closed September 24th through the 26th. And, as usual, Mother Nature may decide to change these dates so it is best to be in contact with the Pro Shop if you are looking to play on these dates.
Important dates: (subject to change in weather)
August 16 - Hill Course Closed, tee aerification.
August 22 - Lake Course, Back 9 Closed, fairway aerification
August 23 - Lake Course, Back 9 Closed, fairway aerification
August 24 - Hill Course, Back 9 Closed, fairway aerification
August 28 - Hill Course, Front 9 Closed, fairway aerification
August 30 - Lake Course, Front 9 Closed, fairway aerification
August 31 - Hill Course, Front 9 Closed, fairway aerification
September 5 - Lake Course, Front 9 Closed, fairway aerification
September 6 - Hill Course, Back 9 Closed, fairway aerification
September 17-19 - Lake Course Closed, greens aerification
September 24-26 - Lake Course Closed, greens aerification
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)