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


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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


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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.


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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.


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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



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One year ago today.....

One year ago today we lost significant amounts or turf on #6, 7, & 8 Lake greens, an event that initiated a significant change at Chautauqua Golf Club. Because of this turf loss, we were given permission to remove a large number of trees that had weakened the greens so badly, and today these same greens that had been a perennial problem are as full and strong as any on the golf course.

USGA agronomist, Adam Moeller will be making another full day consultation visit in August, this time on the Hill Course. Operating off his "rule of thumb" of no trees inside cart paths near greens and tees, I would expect several to be marked for removal. After seeing the positive results on the Lake Course, I certainly hope there will not be any opposition to the removal of these trees. Holes where he will without a doubt recommend removals would be #4, 10, 14, 16 & 17 and most likely #7, 9, 15 & 18. None of these areas will require large scale removal as on the Lake Course but all will greatly benefit the playing surfaces of our greens.

A before and after view of #7 green on the Lake Course. This first picture is hard to look at, but it serves as a reminder of how quickly a weak green can fail when Mother Nature decides to be at her nastiest. We have had a summer as difficult or worse as last season and our greens have held up remarkably well.

Before




After



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What is the black?

I have had several people ask what the black was on the greens last week.

The "black" is algae caused by the rain we received on Thursday followed by warm humid weather. Algae thrives in this type of weather and can be a serious problem thinning out the greens if the weather pattern doesn't change or is left untreated. Fortunately, the weather did change and the algae disappeared as the greens dried out without the need for chemical intervention. I don't like to apply any more plant protectants than is absolutely necessary so I am willing to let a situation like this play itself out to avoid extra applications.

Thanks for the questions and concerns. I enjoy being asked this type of question and want everyone to be as informed as possible.


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