Course Notes,10/1/15

Oak tree left of 1 green succumbed to oak wilt

I am sure most of you have noticed the oak tree near 1 green that has rapidly defoliated over the last two months.  I have had a couple of outside experts look at this tree in the last couple of weeks and their consensus is that the tree succumbed to Oak Wilt.   Oak wilt is a fungal disease that affects the vascular system of the tree, and is spread via insects and by root grafts (or conjoined roots of two oak trees) in the soil.  We will be removing this tree when the ground freezes as part of our annual tree work and monitor the surrounding oaks for potential infection.

The staff and I have begun the process of preparing the turf for winter.  We have aerified tees and are in the process of aerifying cart path entrance and exit points, which help alleviate the strain that turf takes from in-season play.

As a reminder, greens aerification will take place on October 8th and 9th, weather permitting.  The first day we will be working on the front 9 greens and the large practice green, with the other 10 greens aerified the following day.  If there are any changes due to weather, I will communicate those to you via the blog.  Fairways will be aerified the week of October 12th, again weather permitting.  The staff and I appreciate your patience and understanding during this necessary agronomic procedure.  If you would like more information on the benefits of aerification, please click here for a great video from the USGA that identify the methods and reasoning behind aerification.

Fall is the best time to apply fertilizer to any turf, whether it be your lawn, or the turf out on the golf course.  Applications have already taken place to tees and green surrounds.  Greens and fairways will be receiving additional feeding through our sprayers as the month progresses to help build carbohydrate storage in the plant for winter.

If you have any questions, please email me at ryan@elconacc.com.

Ryan