Are You Done Yet?

Silver Maple seeds on #9 fairway and approach

Every year it happens, but this year seems to be worse than in the past.  What am I referring to?  The unsightly and ever so annoying seeds or "helicopters" from the Maple trees, primarily Silver Maples that we hope will end soon.  If there was ever a question as to why it is a priority within our Tree Program to remove these trees, there shouldn't be after viewing these photos.

#13 green

As most of you know, the property that the club is situated on was originally used for farming and grazing and there were very few trees.  During the first two decades of the club's existence, there was a strong push to give Elcona a "mature" look and several fast growing trees such as Locust, Pine and Silver Maples  were added to the landscape.  At the time, this worked well and provided an almost immediate impact, but over the last 10 years or so, these trees have become a headache in many ways.  Not only are they planted too close together and leading to poor turf conditions, but because of their fast growing tendencies, they have soft wood and are susceptible to wind, snow and ice damage that leads to a constant mess on the golf course.

#9 green

Since my arrival in 2006, the removal of these trees, especially the Silver Maples, has been a top priority but a few still remain and are causing the mess that you see in the photos.  During this time of year when the seeds never seem to want to stop falling, it forces my staff to direct their attention toward clean-up instead of focusing on other aspects of the golf course that need attention.  It also delays our mowing in the mornings as we need to clean and blow greens, tees and fairways before they are mown so that our cutting units are not ruined.  Unfortunately, this clean-up is necessary throughout the day as well in order to keep the golf course playable forcing us to put projects on the back burner.